Sebum and anti dandruff shampoos may slow or stop baldness?

[robodoc]

This is a longer explanation of previous post..current studies say the scalps of balding men: fibrosis, inflammation, calcification or arteries, less oxygen and some other factors. Here is one of the most interesting "other" factors: scalp tension. If you are balding there is a correlation with AGA and scalp tension. I think most investigators will say that there is a number of physiological changes in the scalp of AGA sufferers but which is causative and what are associative?

"Modeling an androgen-inflammation feedback loop
AGA sufferers often also present increased sebum, bacterial colonies, and porphyrins in AGA-affected tissues. Studies on androgen insensitive subjects imply that androgens regulate sebum production [77]. Commensal bacteria like Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) feed off of sebum [78] and can colonize sebaceous glands with excess sebum production more readily due to an increased food supply. As P. acnes metabolizes sebum, it produces porphyrins [79] and “proteins likely to play a role in host-tissue degradation and inflammation” [80] via ROS [81] and the activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines – namely, interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1α) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) [82]. In cases of sebaceous gland over-colonization, P. acnes is pathogenic".

"Our model suggests that androgen activity increases from tension-mediated inflammation. In this case, the colonization of fungi like dermatophytes [83] or bacteria like P. acnes – both of which colonize sebum-rich environments – may create a feedback loop between androgen activity, pathogenic microorganisms, and AGA-related inflammation (Fig. 2)."