This study might just have paved the way to treat age-related disorders

Wrinkled skin and hair loss are hallmarks of ageing and they also make for things most women fret big-time! What if we told you that these things could now be reversed? Well, scientists, including one of Indian origin, have proved just that! The scientists used a mouse model and conducted the study at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

As part of the study, when a mutation leading to mitochondrial dysfunction was induced, the mouse developed wrinkled skin and extensive, visible hair loss in a matter of weeks. When the mitochondrial function was restored by turning off the gene responsible for mitochondrial dysfunction, the mouse returned to smooth skin and thick fur, indistinguishable from a healthy mouse of the same age. “To our knowledge, this observation is unprecedented,” said Singh, a professor of genetics in the UAB School of Medicine. In humans, a decline in mitochondrial function is seen during ageing, and mitochondrial dysfunction can drive age-related diseases.

“This mouse model should provide an unprecedented opportunity for the development of preventive and therapeutic drug development strategies to augment the mitochondrial functions for the treatment of ageing-associated skin and hair pathology and other human diseases in which mitochondrial dysfunction plays a significant role," Singh said.

The study proved that mitochondria are reversible regulators of skin ageing and loss of hair, an observation that Singh calls "surprising." "It suggests that epigenetic mechanisms underlying mitochondria-to-nucleus cross-talk must play an important role in the restoration of normal skin and hair phenotype,” Singh said.