Dermatology. 1992;185:82

Psoriatic alopecia: acute and chronic hair loss in 47 patients with scalp psoriasis.Runne U, Kroneisen-Wiersma P.

Hair loss and alopecia were seen in psoriatic lesions of the scalp in 47 patients. snip.. Hair loss varied in intensity from protracted to moderate and massive (36% in tufts)..... Thirteen patients (28%) became aware of the hair loss with the beginning of therapy. Hair loss was found to be circumscribed in 75% of the cases and diffuse in 25%. In 2 cases psoriatic alopecia also manifested itself at sites other than the scalp. The telogen count was found to be increased up to 25-86% in the florid stage. ...snip.. This infiltrate can alter the follicle epithelium and may lead to a granulomatous foreign-body reaction with destruction of the hair follicle. After topical antipsoriatic treatment, most of the reexamined patients showed complete hair regrowth, while 5 developed a residual scarring. Therefore, in the patient with circumscribed or diffuse symptomatic hair loss, with or without scarring, psoriatic alopecia should be considered.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1987;65(1):188

The effects of N,N-diethyl-4-methyl-3-oxo-4-aza-5 alpha-androstane-17 beta-carboxamide, a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor and antiandrogen, on the treatment of baldness in the stumptail macaque.

Rittmaster RS, et al

We used a primate model of male-pattern baldness to test the efficacy of a topically applied 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor and antiandrogen (4-MA) in the treatment of hair loss. Six periadolescent stumptail macaques were given daily topical applications of either 4-MA in dimethylsulfoxide or dimethylsulfoxide alone for 27 months. The three control monkeys developed varying degrees of baldness, while the three 4-MA-treated monkeys retained their juvenile pattern of hair regrowth. The percentage of actively growing hair follicles in the frontal scalp did not change in the 4-MA-treated group [46 +/- 6 (+/- SE) vs. 48 +/- 4], while a significant decrease occurred in the control group (63 +/- 6 vs. 25 +/- 12; P less than 0.025). Skin 5 alpha-reductase activity was reduced in the scalp of the 4-MA-treated monkeys. We conclude that topical 4-MA can prevent the development of baldness in the stumptail macaque, a primate model of androgen-dependent baldness.

Toxicol Pathol. 1987;15(2):149

Histologic changes in nude mouse skin and human skin xenografts following exposure to sulfhydryl reagents:
\
arsenicals. et al

This report documents the histological changes in nude mouse skin and in human skin xenografts on nude mice following exposure to phenyldichloroarsine (PDA), a vesicant arsenical. Under light microscopy, we observed in PDA-treated human skin grafts: 1) degeneration of epidermal cell nuclei (apparent by 2 hr after exposure with increasing severity through 48 hr); 2) loss of epidermal cytoplasmic basophilia (apparent by 4 hr, maximal within 12 hr); 3) epidermal cytoplasmic vacuolization (vacuoles appeared within 4 hr and increased in size through 24 hr); 4) cleft formation within the basement membrane zone (apparent by 12 hr, increasing in severity through 24 hr); 5) inflammation evidenced by polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) infiltration (apparent by 4 hr and increasing through 48 hr). The PMNs frequently formed a wall around the lesion, but did not infiltrate the treated area. Nude mouse skin reacted faster to PDA than did the grafts, but the histological changes were similar. Nude mouse hair follicles and sebaceous glands showed similar cellular changes at approximately the same time as did epidermal cells. Transmission electron microscopy of mouse skin exposed to PDA revealed a widening of intercellular spaces with attenuation of desmosomes. The subepidermal clefts resulted from separation within the lamina lucida with the lamina densa forming the base of the cleft. Diphenylchloroarsine caused lesions histologically indistinguishable from those of PDA. Lesions resulting from exposure to other sulfhydryl-binding compounds were very different from arsenical lesions. The arsenical-sensitive cellular constituents were not identified.

hair loss and hair loss treatment

Tohoku J Exp Med. 1977;121(1):1

Histochemical quantification of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in human hair follicles.

Sasai Y, et al

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was studied in hair follicles from both the bald and hairy regions of the scalp of 5 patients with male pattern alopecia by the application of the method of Lineweaver-Burk to the histochemistry and by the fluorometric method of Lowry. In vitro experiment showed that the incubation time necessary for yielding a certain amount of formazan is related to the amount of enzyme present. In the case of section experiment, the time required for the first appearance of formazan deposition in the tissue at various substrate concentrations was plotted against the reciprocal of the substrate concentration. The data obtained by this method seem to be consistent with the data by the fluorometric method.

Br J Dermatol. 1997 Oct;137(4):491-7.

Topical FK506: a potent immunotherapy for alopecia areata?

McElwee KJ, et al

We elected to examine the efficacy of the topically applied immunosuppressive agent FK506 (Prograf) in the treatment of alopecia areata (AA) using the Dundee experimental bald rat (DEBR) model. Thirty lesional DEBR rats were allocated to five groups of six. Group 1 rats received 0.1 mL of a 0.25% solution of FK506 within a 2 x 2 cm marked area on one bald flank twice a week (125 micrograms FK506/cm2 per week) for 8 weeks, while the contralateral flank was left untreated. In group II, 0.05 mL of a 0.1% solution of FK 506 was applied 5 days per week on one flank (62.5 micrograms FK506/ cm2 per week) and control vehicle to the opposite flank for 8 weeks. Group III rats were treated as in group II except that drug and vehicle were applied twice a week (25 micrograms FK506/cm2 per week) for 4 weeks. A positive control group received orally administered cyclosporin A (CsA) (10 mg/kg daily) for 8 weeks and a further group was left untreated. Rats were regularly examined and photographed with skin biopsies taken from groups II and III. All FK 506-treated rats regrew hair at the site of drug application within 14-21 days. Growth continued for 3 weeks beyond termination of hair loss treatment after which gradual hair loss was observed. No hair growth was seen as a result of vehicle application and hair loss continued on untreated areas and in the untreated control group. Immunohistology revealed a drastic reduction in the follicular inflammatory infiltrate at the site of the FK506 application. The oral CsA group responded by simultaneous regrowth of hair over the whole body. Our findings suggest that FK506 may have considerable potential as a topical treatment for AA.

Science. 1965 Jun 11;148(3676):1471
Hereditary Absence of Sebaceous Glands in the Mouse.
Gates AH, Karasek M.

An autosomal recessive mutation, characterized by an absence of sebaceous glands, and by hyperkeratosis, alopecia (hair loss), and single (rather than the usual multiple) hair-follicle units, has occurred spontaneously in the BALB/c strain of mouse. Studies in which reciprocal transplantations of skin were made between normal and mutant mice suggest that some diffusible substance(s) synthesized by normal skin can stimulate hair regrowth and alleviate the hyperkeratosis characteristic of the skin syndrome.

Int J Dermatol. 1992 Dec;31(12):858-9.
Hormonal status in postmenopausal androgenetic alopecia.Georgala S, et al

The development of androgenetic alopecia is thought to be caused by increased androgen action on hair follicles with menopause. Testosterone, estradiol and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) serum levels were determined in ten postmenopausal women with androgenetic alopecia and in ten sex and age matched healthy controls. No statistically significant differences were found in the hormone levels between the patients and the controls. These findings suggest that a genetically determined functional alteration of androgen receptors and/or a metabolic disturbance may exist in the hair follicle keratinocytes in androgenetic alopecia or pattern hair loss.

PMID: 1478763

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1991 Dec 26;642:376-83; discussion 383-4.

Steroid chemistry and hormone controls during the hair follicle cycle.
Sawaya ME.

Human hair follicles contain several steroid enzymes capable of transforming weak androgens, such as dehydroepiandrosterone, into more potent target tissue androgens, such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. Kinetic constants have been evaluated for the 3-alpha, 3-beta, and 17-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes, 5a-reductase, and the aromatase enzyme in isolated human HF from scalp of men and women with androgenetic alopecia or pattern hair loss. The apparent Km values did not differ for each enzyme whether present in bald, receded HF or thick, anagen HF of men or women. However, levels of specific activity varied greatly in the frontal versus occipital HF analyzed. The androgen receptor content and activation factors also differ between men and women. The steroid mechanisms influencing AGA in men and women may be similar, but differences in the specific activity/amounts of enzymes, receptors, and activation factors differ between men and women. These findings may explain the varied clinical presentations of men and women with AGA, and may shape treatment options for the future.

Development. 2003 Nov;130(21):5241-55.

Manipulation of stem cell proliferation and lineage commitment: visualisation of label-retaining cells in wholemounts of mouse epidermis.

Braun KM, et al

Mammalian epidermis is maintained by stem cells that have the ability to self-renew and generate daughter cells that differentiate along the lineages of the hair follicles, interfollicular epidermis and sebaceous gland. As stem cells divide infrequently in adult mouse epidermis, they can be visualised as DNA label-retaining cells (LRC). With whole-mount labelling, we can examine large areas of interfollicular epidermis and many hair follicles simultaneously, enabling us to evaluate stem cell markers and examine the effects of different stimuli on the LRC population. LRC are not confined to the hair follicle, but also lie in sebaceous glands and interfollicular epidermis. LRC reside throughout the permanent region of the hair follicle, where they express keratin 15 and lie in a region of high alpha6beta4 integrin expression. LRC are not significantly depleted by successive hair regrowth cycles. They can, nevertheless, be stimulated to divide by treatment with phorbol ester, resulting in near complete loss of LRC within 12 days. Activation of Myc stimulates epidermal proliferation without depleting LRC and induces differentiation of sebocytes within the interfollicular epidermis. Expression of N-terminally truncated Lef1 to block beta-catenin signalling induces transdifferentiation of hair follicles into interfollicular epidermis and sebocytes and causes loss of LRC primarily through proliferation. We conclude that LRC are more sensitive to some proliferative stimuli than others and that changes in lineage can occur with or without recruitment of LRC into cycle.

J Am Acad Dermatol. 1987 Feb;16(2 Pt 1):392-4

Effect of time on male pattern baldness.

Epstein E.
PMID: 3819080

hair loss blog

J Dermatol Surg Oncol. 1979 May;5(5):407-11.

Epilation by electrocoagulation: factors that result in regrowth of hair.

McKinstry CT, Inaba M, Anthony JN.

From our experience, the most important requirement for permanent epilation by electrocoagulation is not only to destroy hair bulbs, but also to destroy the isthmal regions of hair follicles and the sebaceous glands.

J Cutan Pathol. 1975;2(5):240-5.

Cellular activity in the dermis surrounding the hair bulb in alopecia areata.

Pierard GE, De la Brassinne M.

The metabolic activity of the cells in the connective tissue surrounding the hair bulb has been studied by radioautography in alopecia areata and in normal scalp, using in vitro incorporation of tritiated thymidine, uridine, histidine, leucine and proline. In alopecia areata, the hair bulbs are blocked in the anagen IV stage and DNA, RNA and protein synthesis are restrained. Cells in the papilla, as well as the cellular infiltrate, display a very low rate of metabolic activity. During regrowth in alopecia areata, the activity of endothelial cells is increased in the papillary and peribulbar layers before DNA, RNA and protein synthesis are restored in the epithelial cells of the hair bulb. The dermal and epithelial labelling patterns eventually reach levels comparable to those observed in an induced anagen IV state of a normal scalp. It is concluded that the progression from anagen IV to a further stage represents a critical period in the growth of hair that would closely depend upon an adequate metabolic function of the connective tissue. It is impaired in alopecia areata.

J Drugs Dermatol. 2004 Jul-Aug;3(4):363-4.Links
5 alpha-reductase and finasteride in pattern alopecia and acne.Burkhart CG, Burkhart CN.
PMID: 15303779

Pattern hair loss treatment with finasteride

J Drugs Dermatol. 2004 Jul-Aug;3(4):363-4.Links
5 alpha-reductase and finasteride in pattern alopecia and acne.Burkhart CG, Burkhart CN.
PMID: 15303779

Pattern hair loss treatment with finasteride