TOKYO: Scientists have found out that grey hair which is commonly thought to be a sign of old age and not liked by people, is actually a cancer fighter.
It is reported by a revolutionary research by Tokyo University that getting grey hair can be a way of the body to protect itself from cancer. The study even goes as far as to say that the skin stem cells, melanocytes, can either lead to hair turning grey or the development of skin cancer (melanoma) depending on which one gets activated.
Major Findings of the Research
Melanocytes are the cells that reside in hair follicles and they are the ones that either cause hair to lose its color or continue the division which can result in the development of cancerous tumors.
The research showed that the body reacts to the damaging of DNA that is caused by factors inside the body or from the environment and at the same time is related to aging and cancer.
As a matter of fact, these are the very same stem cells that normally with age and without intervention will gradually disappear thus in the long run causing hair to turn colorless. That is why whenever DNA damage is done by such things as UV rays or other nasty chemicals, this is interpreted as a signal for these cells to get the defending gear on hence they turn hair to grey and protect the body from cancer as well.
It was also discovered by the scientists that in the mouse trials to prove their point, DNA damage was what prompted stem cells to activate their defense mechanism which was the eradication of the problematic cells in hair leading to greying.
Unfortunately, once the mice were exposed to UV-B rays or DMBA chemicals, the stem cells behaved differently; they did not just keep working but they also started proliferating thus giving rise to skin cancers such as melanoma.
Could Grey Hair Help in Cancer Defense?
The scientists warn that grey hair or the formation thereof may be the natural way the body is fending off cancer.
Scientists have also revealed that the protective mechanism against cancer works well until the time when harmful chemicals are able to bypass it and skin cancer starts developing exponentially.
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Implications of This Discovery
Scientists emphasize that the grey hair scenario is not a blanket cancer prevention case but rather their findings speak in favor of the body’s ability to get rid of cells that pose potential danger. These new insights can potentially open the door for the future development of therapies aimed at disease prevention as well as slowing down the aging process.
The discoveries were made known through the publication in Nature Cell Biology journal and are nothing short of an eye opener into the way our body carries out its repair operations at the molecular level.
