Latest breakthrough research
presented at the World Congress of Dermatology 2011 by head &
shoulders, the world’s leading anti-dandruff brand, has paved the
way for further advances in the treatment of dandruff (and
seborrheic dermatitis), a condition that affects more than half of
the world’s population.
New discovery: ZPT mechanism of action
Following their 2007 success in sequencing the genome of Malassezia
globosa, the fungus that causes dandruff, head & shoulders
scientists have used a combination of various cutting-edge
approaches to unveil how ZPT (zinc pyrithione), the most widely used
anti-dandruff ingredient, works on M. globosa to inhibit its growth.
They discovered that ZPT inhibits the growth of M. globosa by
interfering with the metal metabolism of the fungus (specifically
involving copper) which leads to a reduction of proteins crucial for
the fungal growth.
“head & shoulders have worked at the forefront of scalp science for
over 50 years. This latest scientific breakthrough represents the
first discovery of an anti-fungal mechanism of this kind and we are
very excited about how this latest knowledge presents new horizons
to further develop the potential of ZPT and advance anti-dandruff
technologies and products in general,” said Dr Rene Rust, principal
scientist at head & shoulders about this latest discovery.
The role of the follicular infundibulum in effective
anti-dandruff treatments
Recent research showed that in addition to occurring on the surface
of the scalp skin, M. globosa can also reside in the uppermost part
of the hair follicle (the follicular infundibulum). This recessed
micro-environment is ideal for the survival of the fungus as it is
well protected and has an abundance of sebum oils as food source.
Fungal cells might even escape treatment in the infundibulum and can
– from there - re-colonize the scalp after a wash and cause dandruff
symptoms to re-occur rapidly.
Therefore an effective anti-dandruff treatment strategy has to
deliver ZPT to the follicular infundibulum, in addition to the
superficial scalp skin surface.
In their latest scientific study, the head & shoulders scientists
pioneered new and tailored techniques to quantify and compare how
efficiently anti-dandruff actives are deposited on the scalp surface
and in the follicular infundibulum during the treatment with head &
shoulders.
With these new techniques, the team showed – for the first time:
•that the head & shoulders formulation not only effectively targets
the dandruff-causing M. globosa fungus that grows on the scalp
surface, but also delivers the micronized ZPT active to the
follicular infundibulum.
•that head & shoulders formula actually targets the infundibulum,
delivering between 7 to 70 times more ZPT to the infundibulum than
the proportionately expected amount. This is one of the factors
contributing to the outstanding anti-dandruff benefits of the head &
shoulders formulations.
head & shoulders first introduced ZPT as an anti-dandruff ingredient
in 1961 and have since evolved the scalp care product formulations
using an optimized and efficacious form of the active called
micronized ZPT. Although it is known through numerous clinical
studies that ZPT really works as a highly effective agent against M.
globosa, very little was known about how the active actually
inhibited the growth of the fungus cells causing dandruff and how it
was distributed on the scalp surface and the follicular infundibulum
– until now.
“head & shoulders scientists have achieved some of the biggest
breakthroughs in scalp science in our over 50 years of research in
this area, including: identifying the actual cause of dandruff - the
fungus Malassezia globosa; sequencing the entire genome of this
commensal yeast; and – now - uncovering how ZPT actually works on
fungal cells at a molecular level. We will continue to work on
latest relevant advancements in science and technology, and ensure
that the products we develop enable consumers to enjoy fantastic
hair benefits and a great daily-use experience, whilst receiving
effective treatment for their scalp,” said Dr Rust.
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