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.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor deuruxolitinib for the treatment of adults with severe alopecia areata.

The development, which was announced in a July 25, 2024, news release from the drug’s manufacturer Sun Pharma, is based on data from two pivotal randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trials: THRIVE-AA1 and THRIVE-AA2, which included 1220 adults with severe alopecia areata enrolled at sites in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Study participants had at least 50% scalp hair loss as measured by Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) for more than 6 months. Data were also collected from two open-label, long-term extension trials in which patients were eligible to enroll upon completion of the 24-week trials.