Grey hair

Main article: Hair

Hair usually consists of 3 layers - cuticular, cortical and core (may be absent). 

Cells of the cortical layer contain the pigment melanin, which gives the hair a different color.

2019: With early gray in the body, greater levels of protective gluathione

In April 2019, the results of a study by Spanish scientists became known, according to which early gray hair can be a sign of a good state of the body. Far from always gray hair is associated with the general aging of the body. Often it's all about heredity. However, suddenly graying hair should alert - sometimes this can indicate serious diseases that the body begins to fight.

Hair color is most directly related to the volume of gluathione contained in the body - a special substance that is responsible, among other things, for the synthesis of pigment that dyes hair. Gluathion is needed for the operation of a wide variety of protective mechanisms - it, in particular, provides protection against the formation of malignant tumors, and also protects the cardiovascular system from age-related changes. Plus, gluation is needed to protect against senile neurodegenerative diseases.

Often, the body borrows this pigment from hair when it mobilizes all its strength to fight cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease and a number of other ailments. In addition, the researchers concluded that stress was not involved in the early appearance of gray hair.

People who get grey at a relatively early age tend to have higher levels of gluathione. Simply because the body does not spend it on hair dyeing.

In the course of their study, scientists studied a group of patients numbering 54 thousand people aged 30 to 60 years.

2017: The relationship between gray hair and heart disease

At the European Congress on Preventive Cardiology EuroPrevent 2017, held in Malaga (Spain) from April 6 to 8, Egyptian specialists from the University of Cairo presented the results of a study demonstrating the relationship between gray and cardiovascular diseases.

The study involved 545 men. They were tested for hormonal changes and the cells' ability to grow. In people with gray hair, these indicators were worse than in volunteers without gray hair. In addition, most of the participants in the experiment with gray hair had disorders in the functioning of the arteries, high pressure and high fat levels.

Egyptian scientists conclude grey hair shows heart disease in men

The analysis of the data showed that a high score on the "sedina scale" (3 or more) is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, regardless of chronological age and the presence of other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

In patients with diagnosed coronary disease, the scores on the "sedina scale" and the degree of calcification (calcification) of the coronary artery were much higher than in healthy people.  

According to the authors of the report, some of the biological mechanisms leading to coronary artery disease are also responsible for gray hair. These include impaired DNA repair, oxidative stress, inflammation, hormonal changes and cell growth arrest.

Aging is an inevitable risk factor for heart disease and is associated with dermatological signs that may indicate an increased risk, "said Irini Samuel, one of the authors of the study, cardiologist at Cairo University.

Further research is needed to coordinate with dermatologists to learn more about genetic and other preventable environmental factors that affect the appearance of gray hair, he said.^[1]

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