South Korean researchers have discovered clues for developing hair loss treatment using adipose-derived stem cells.

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said Thursday that the research team confirmed injecting a mouse with adipose-derived stem cells cultured from a solution containing a certain growth factor and it resulted in expediting hair growth by more than three times. 

Professor Sung Jong-hyuck of Yonsei University's College of Pharmacy is leading the team which also includes two other researchers Kim Ji-hye and Kim Wang-kyun.

The latest result has come under the spotlight as a cue to effectively overcome the long culturing time and high costs seen as the biggest obstacle in developing adipose-derived stem cells as treatment.

Sung said the team will be able to develop cell treatment for hair loss with three to five years of additional research. The latest research is academically valuable as proof to support the latest theory in which low density active oxygen works as an intracellular messenger to control cell growth.

The latest research result will be published in the online edition of Stem Cells, an international scientific journal in the stem cell sector.