A Rare Condition that makes Hair Truly Untamable, Hair condition that has frustrated parents for decades, now scientists believe they have found the genes responsible for “uncombable hair syndrome”. Yes, it really is a thing. Uncombable hair syndrome is more than just difficult hair. As its name suggests, it’s hair that sticks out at all angles, making it almost impossible to tame let alone comb.

A Rare Condition Makes Hair Truly Untamable, All Thanks to These Genes

It usually starts in children between the ages of three months and 12 years and is characterised by straw blond or silvery blond frizzy hair. It’s usually wavy, dry and brittle and, thanks to its appearance, it’s sometimes called spun glass hair, pili trianguli et canaliculi or cheveux incoiffables. Boris Johnson or Albert Einstein might spring to mind, but while those high-profile men are famous for their unruly locks, with very few cases of uncombable hair syndrome in the world, it’s highly unlikely they have or had the condition. Besides, the condition tends to improve or even disappear by adulthood. A Rare Condition that makes Hair Truly Untamable, There hasn’t been much research on this rare condition, which first appeared in published articles in the 1970s. Since then, fewer than 70 publications have appeared, most being case reports. One of the more recent studies involving 11 children with uncombable hair was performed by geneticists at the University of Bonn, Germany. They found that the condition seemed to be explained by mutations in three genes that code for well-known proteins in the hair follicle.

However, since that study was widely reported by the press, more families with kids with this condition came forward and now the same scientists have repeated the genetics with over 100 children. A Rare Condition that makes Hair Truly Untamable, They have confirmed that in 76 of these children, the cause is linked to mutations in the PADI3 gene as well as the involvement of two other genes, all three of which code for important proteins involved in hair-fibre formation. Human variation in appearance, including in hair, is a result of the many small variations in our genes in the global population. When a mutation happens in a gene, sometimes it leads to a change in the function of the protein. If that protein is in the hair follicle, it’s more than likely that the hair will look different. So this can be brown, blond, curly, thick, straight, red or even bald. There are a few well-known inherited variations in hair fibre shape and curl, but rarely are these linked to any serious illness. Interestingly, often the proteins that are affected are in the inner root sheath: three layers of the hair follicle that help put the shape into the hair fibre.

Source: This news is originally published by sciencealert

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