Gray Hair Cure In 2013? New Compound May Reverse Gray Hair, Vitiligo

A cure for both gray hair and the skin condition vitiligo is coming closer to fruition, according to researchers.

"Hair dye manufacturers are on notice: The cure for gray hair is coming," the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) announced in a press release. 

"That's right, the need to cover up one of the classic signs of aging with chemical pigments will be a thing of the past thanks to a team of European researchers."

The report, published in The FASEB Journal, explains how scientists discovered a new compound, a pseudocatalase, which may actually reverse gray hair from the root, as well as treat vitiligo.

Vitiligo is a skin condition that causes loss of melanin — the pigment that determines eye, skin and hair color — and causes irregular white patches to emerge on the surface of the skin, according to Mayo Clinic.

"To date, it is beyond any doubt that the sudden loss of the inherited skin and localized hair color can affect those individuals in many fundamental ways," said Dr. Karin U. Schallreuter, study author from the Institute for Pigmentary Disorders in association with E.M. Arndt University of Greifswald, Germany and the Centre for Skin Sciences, School of Life Sciences at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom.

"The improvement of quality of life after total and even partial successful repigmentation has been documented."

Researchers working on the study noted that massive oxidation stress — the cause of gray hair development — causes hydrogen peroxide to accumulate in the hair follicle, causing the hair to bleach itself from the inside out.

But the scientists say that the UVB-activated, topical compound that was developed during their research, called PC-KUS, can address oxidation stress, therefore curing gray hair development.

"For generations, numerous remedies have been concocted to hide gray hair," said Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal.

"But now, for the first time, an actual treatment that gets to the root of the problem has been developed. While this is exciting news, what's even more exciting is that this also works for vitiligo. This condition, while technically cosmetic, can have serious socio-emotional effects of people. Developing an effective treatment for this condition has the potential to radically improve many people's lives."