Stem cells that are helpful in the treatment of various diseases may now be obtained from hair follicles, as per a recently conducted research. A hair follicle is a part of skin that is responsible for the growth of hair. Studies suggest that a small gland called a sebaceous gland is attached to the follicle and this gland is in bountiful supply in the human body.

The stem cells are already being used successfully in the treatment of bypass surgery, creating new blood vessels and rejuvenating skin. The blood vessels that are engineered from stem cells obtained from hair follicles are capable of creating a blood vessel which can dilate and contract. This property can have applications in cardiovascular areas. In the case of burns where the majority of tissues are damaged, the stem cells from the hair follicles could be used to repair or replace damaged tissues by grafting.    

The stem cells from human hair follicles also contain simple muscle cells. These muscle cells have numerous muscles of organs and tissues like gastrointestinal, abdominal cavity, bladder and respiratory tract. This means that the stem cells from hair follicles could be useful in the repair and renewal of damaged tissues and organs of all these areas.

In the initial research it has been demonstrated that the stem cells found from hair follicles are similar to those obtained from bone marrow in the sense that both do not trigger immune reactions.