Men take their hats off to science

27.05.14: MEN IN HATS are queuing up at health centres for a new hair-restoring drug.

Clinical trials suggest that Z17 will banish baldness in 90% of cases.

The breakthrough came in the late 20th century, when it was discovered that a drug used to treat enlarged prostates also restored hair in many cases.

"It worked by preventing the male hormone testosterone being turned into dihydrotestosterone, the variant that causes the damage," said Dr Juan Sorpresa of Merck Pharmaceuticals. "Z17 has two improvements. Following the discovery that oestrogen was implicated in prostate enlargement, we added an oestrogen inhibitor; second, it comes in three variants for genetic types." JB

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