It seems scientists at the American university UCLA may have hit on a cure for hair loss. What’s more, they say it was found by accident, something that’s quite common during any research.

The original research involved finding out how stress affects the function of the intestines. In so doing, scientists believe they may have found a chemical implicated in hair growth. It seems this particular substance blocks a stress-related hormone which ironically is also associated with hair loss.

Of course, the research is in its early stages, so it is wise not to get too excited. Million Mulugeta, a professor of medicine in the division of digestive diseases at UCLA, told reporters: “Our findings show that a short-duration treatment with this compound causes an astounding long-term hair re-growth in chronically stressed mutant mice.”

He added: “This could open new venues to treat hair loss in humans through the modulation of the stress hormone receptors, particularly hair loss related to chronic stress and aging.”

Hair loss, particularly in men is a massive problem, not just physiologically but psychologically. As such, this accidental research will no doubt be welcomed. However as intimated earlier it is in the early stages, but it does appear to offer some promise.

The research was carried out on mice, which after treatment during the research were found to have re-grown hair on their backs. Professor Mulugeta said: “When we analysed the identification number of the mice that had grown hair we found that, indeed, the astressin-B peptide was responsible for the remarkable hair growth in the bald mice.”

Research on mice however is one thing; extrapolation onto humans is another.