Scientists Unveil Potential Treatment for Gray Hair and Skin Condition Vitiligo

Researchers have announced that a treatment for gray hair may well be on the horizon. A team of European researchers have discovered that gray hair occurs when there is massive oxidative stress in the hair follicle caused by a build-up of hydrogen peroxide, which causes the hair to bleach itself from the inside out. The researchers then went out to discover that the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be treated with a topical compound containing a UVB-activated pseudocatalase. Furthermore, the remedy was also used to successfully treat the skin condition vitiligo. Study author Karin U. Schallreuter, M.D., 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, said: "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. The improvement of quality of life after total and even partial successful repigmentation has been documented."