New hope for hair loss sufferers is sprouting up in an unexpected place: the world of eye care. It turns out that bimatoprost, a drug commonly used to treat glaucoma and also sometimes used in regrowing eyelashes, may cultivate scalp hair regrowth as well. The discovery comes from the University of Bradford in the U.K., where the drug was tested on human cells from the scalp as well as hair follicles.
Researchers are optimistic about these findings, which they see as a starting point for potential advancements in treating hair loss. “Further research should increase our understanding of how hair follicles work and thereby allow for new therapeutic approaches to treat many hair growth disorders,” they note.