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It is a good comparison though. As far as aging, that's why I mentioned "men of age" meaning men old enough to be eligible for balding. I was also saying 20-50% because it depends on where you live. In some placed balding is more common than not. In my university, there are many very old professors with full, white heads of hair and there are professors who are bald.
The point is, you don't have to look very far to find someone who already naturally has what you want. They are the control group, you see.
Hair loss is indeed complex, at least more complex than people initially expected. But it is far less complex than colonizing mars or regenerating other organs or solving the protein folding problem or any number of high value problems that we are chunking away at.
I know it seems like we will never figure it out but please, please keep in mind that the idea of having a personal computer seemed ridiculous only a few decades ago. To say that we will never solve the problem, ever, is definitely a stretch.
Here is some consolation: researchers interested in organ regeneration are going to solve hair loss first. Why? Because the follicle is a very small organ so it is much easier to start with a simple system than to dive right into trying to culture a heart or a liver. And also, luckily for us, the hair follicle regenerates itself cyclically - this means at least to an extent, we can watch the organ be "rebuilt" over and over, which gives us clues as to what cellular signaling or other conditions are required to initiate and control the growth and development of the system. And to top it off, everyone and their mother knows that solving this problem or explaining its cause will lead to fame and fortune galore.
I personally think that we will see a cure in our lifetime, but we can all debate that. But I think saying we will never get it is too much, and it is not because I am thinking wishfully; it's really not that bad of a science problem. The field also may seem screwy because that's how technology is. Just as with the development of finasteride, the treatment will probably be out before the mechanism is fully revealed because people are eager to make products, make money and move on. The bronze age was not heralded by advances in our understanding of metallurgy. People tried stuff and it worked, so they just kept using whatever worked.
Hang in there :]
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