A TREATMENT for balding men, women with stretchmarks and anyone who has gum disease may have been discovered by scientists. As cure-alls go, an injection of fibroblasts may be the ultimate.

The new technology is being developing by Isolagen, a Texas-based biotech company, and 50 patients are to undergo clincial trials in London.

Fibroblasts are tiny cells that control levels of the proteins collagen and elastin, which are found in skin, bones and other tissue. To treat burns, the scientists take cells from an undamaged area, extract the fibroblasts and multiply them in the laboratory before injecting them back into the patient.

Mark Lewis, of University College London, said that the cells were marvellous at knowing what to do in the body.

Fibroblasts have been used for several years to rejuvenate faces and injecting them into areas affected by stretch marks has, in some cases, made them disappear completely.

They have also been taken from the hairy part of a man’s scalp and injected into the bald or thinning patch. This has been shown to cure baldness in the laboratory, but researchers do not yet know if it will lead to a product being developed.

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