A Surprising Link Between Immune System and Hair Growth

[Vince]

Summary: Regulatory T cells interact with skin cells using glucocorticoid hormones to generate new hair follicles and promote hair growth. The findings could have positive implications for the development of new therapies to treat alopecia and other hair loss disorders.

In acute cases of alopecia, immune cells attack the skin tissue, causing hair loss. The usual remedy is to use glucocorticoids to inhibit the immune reaction in the skin, so they don’t keep attacking the hair follicles,” says Zheng. “Applying glucocorticoids has the double benefit of triggering the regulatory T cells in the skin to produce TGF-beta3, stimulating the activation of the hair follicle stem cells.”

How ‘The Dress’ Sparked a Neuroscience Breakthrough

www-wired-com.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[Nelson Vergel]

FDA Approves First Systemic Treatment for Alopecia Areata

The FDA approved a treatment for adults with severe alopecia areata, a disorder that often appears as patchy baldness.

www.fda.gov

 

[sammmy]

Alopecia areata is autoimmune and they treat it with immune suppressors, which increases risks of infections.

The common male balding is NOT alopecia areata. Unjustified use of immune suppressors will be dangerous. Continuous application of corticosteroids on skin is NOT recommened - thins out skin, so it is unlikely this is a "solution" of the problem either.