March 202143
PRP in female pattern hair loss was reported effective across eight studies, including after minoxidil failure, and a placebo-controlled PRP trial found improved hair count, density and diameter. Scalp vascular density did not predict topical minoxidil response in women, with hair count gains either way. Follicular unit transplantation in women was reported effective with low complication rates across 751 cases. Low-dose oral minoxidil was reported effective across hair disorders, with dosing ranges given for women and men. A 655 nm laser helmet increased hair counts in female pattern hair loss. Oral JAK inhibitors in alopecia areata improved scalp regrowth, though two brepocitinib patients developed rhabdomyolysis. Hair loss after bariatric surgery affected 57% of patients, mainly younger women with low zinc and ferritin.
- Investigating the Safety and Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatment for Female Androgenetic Alopecia: Review of the Literature A review of eight studies (197 women) found PRP well tolerated and effective for female pattern hair loss, including after minoxidil failure or intolerance.
- Platelet‐rich plasma for androgenic alopecia: A randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind study and combined mice model experiment A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of 52 AGA patients found PRP injections significantly improved hair count, density, diameter and anagen ratio at 6 months versus control.
- Scalp vascularization as a marker of topical minoxidil treatment efficacy in patients with androgenetic alopecia In 76 women with female pattern hair loss, topical 5% minoxidil improved hair count equally whether scalp blood vessel density was rich or poor.
- Female Pattern Hair Loss: Why the Follicular Unit Transplantation Surgical Technique Remains a Good Option A 31-year retrospective series of 751 women with female pattern hair loss found follicular unit transplantation effective with very low complication rates; 18% needed a second session.
- Review of oral minoxidil as treatment of hair disorders: in search of the perfect dose A review of low-dose oral minoxidil across hair disorders found it effective and well tolerated; women typically need 0.25–2.5 mg daily and men 1.25–5 mg daily.
- Corticosterone inhibits GAS6 to govern hair follicle stem-cell quiescence In mice, chronic stress raises corticosterone, which suppresses GAS6 in dermal papillae and holds follicle stem cells dormant; restoring Gas6 reactivated hair growth.
- In vitro and clinical evaluation of umbilical cord‐derived mesenchymal stromal cell‐conditioned media for hair regeneration In lab tests and a 15-volunteer pilot, umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cell-conditioned media was safe and produced hair regrowth in 86.6% of subjects.
- AIRMESS – Academy of International Regenerative Medicine & Surgery Societies: recommendations in the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), autologous stem cell-based therapy (ASC-BT) in androgenetic alopecia and wound healing Expert recommendations conclude PRP and autologous stem cell-based therapies show convincing positive results for hair regrowth and wound healing, but protocols are not yet standardized.
- Evidence from a humanized mouse model of androgenetic alopecia that platelet‐rich plasma stimulates hair regrowth, hair shaft diameter and vellus‐to‐terminal hair reconversion <i>in vivo</i> In a humanized mouse model of androgenetic alopecia, platelet-rich plasma stimulated hair regrowth, thicker shafts and vellus-to-terminal hair reconversion.
- Hair Growth Promoting Activity of Cedrol Nanoemulsion in C57BL/6 Mice and Its Bioavailability In mice, a cedrol nanoemulsion grew hair more robustly than 2% minoxidil and showed fourfold higher bioavailability than a standard ointment.
- A phase 2a randomized, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the oral Janus kinase inhibitors ritlecitinib and brepocitinib in alopecia areata: 24-week results A phase 2a trial found oral JAK inhibitors ritlecitinib and brepocitinib significantly improved scalp regrowth at 24 weeks; two brepocitinib patients had rhabdomyolysis.
- Permanent Alopecia in Breast Cancer Patients: Role of Taxanes and Endocrine Therapies Three breast cancer patients developed permanent alopecia after taxane chemotherapy; the report notes endocrine therapy may also contribute and calls for better risk counseling.
- Results of low‐level laser therapy in the treatment of hair growth: An Egyptian experience In a 20-patient prospective study, a 655 nm low-level laser helmet significantly increased hair counts in female pattern hair loss after 16 weeks, with no serious adverse events; telogen effluvium did not significantly improve.
- KY19382, a novel activator of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling, promotes hair regrowth and hair follicle neogenesis In cell, human follicle and mouse studies, the novel Wnt/β-catenin activator KY19382 promoted hair regrowth and generation of new hair follicles.
- Impact of adipose-derived stem cells on engineering hair follicle germ-like tissue grafts for hair regenerative medicine In a lab study, adding fat-derived stem cells to engineered hair follicle germs markedly boosted hair shaft growth after transplantation into nude mice.
- Hair Loss After Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis A meta-analysis of 18 studies found hair loss affects 57% of bariatric surgery patients, especially younger women with low zinc, folate and ferritin levels.
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Nonscarring Hair Loss in Primary Care in 2021 A JAMA clinical update reviews how primary care doctors diagnose and manage male pattern balding, telogen effluvium and alopecia areata.
- Male and female pattern hair loss: Treatable and worth treating A review confirming pattern hair loss responds to pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments and early treatment helps preserve hair.
- Nanoscale microenvironment engineering for expanding human hair follicle stem cell and revealing their plasticity A lab-built nanoscale biomimetic coating with FGF-7, VEGF-A and BMP2 stably expanded human hair follicle stem cells and controlled their fate.
- Patient Perspectives of the Social, Emotional and Functional Impact of Alopecia Areata: A Systematic Literature Review A systematic review of 37 studies found alopecia areata substantially worsens quality of life across emotional, social and functional domains, with no AA-specific measurement tool existing.
- Maintaining Inducibility of Dermal Follicle Cells on Silk Fibroin/Sodium Alginate Scaffold for Enhanced Hair Follicle Regeneration In lab and rat studies, a silk fibroin/sodium alginate scaffold kept dermal papilla cells hair-inductive and aided skin repair and follicle regeneration.
- Female Pattern Hair Loss in Female and Male: A Quantitative Trichoscopic Analysis in Chinese Han Patients In 73 Chinese Han subjects, female pattern hair loss showed reduced density and shaft diameter across the scalp, worst at the vertex, with parietal and occipital areas also affected.
- Hair Follicle Chemosensation: TRPM5 Signaling Is Required for Anagen Maintenance TRPM5 signaling in hair follicles is required to maintain the anagen growth phase.
- Alopecia and the Microbiome: A Future Therapeutic Target? A review asks whether the microbiome could become a future therapeutic target in alopecia.
- Alterations in Pattern Baldness According to Sex: Hair Metabolomics Approach Untargeted metabolomics of hair samples found steroid pathway changes in pattern baldness, with androgen pathways altered in men and estrogen and arachidonic acid pathways in women.
- Usefulness of high-frequency ultrasonography in the assessment of alopecia areata – comparison of ultrasound images with trichoscopic images In 25 alopecia areata patients, high-frequency ultrasound produced distinct images for active, inactive and regrowth phases, suggesting diagnostic value alongside trichoscopy.
- Hair Growth Promotion Effect of Nelumbinis Semen Extract with High Antioxidant Activity In cell and mouse studies, antioxidant-rich lotus seed (Nelumbinis Semen) extract promoted hair growth comparably to 3% minoxidil by raising IGF-1 and VEGF and lowering TGF-β1.
- BEARD—A Potential Donor Site in Grade 6 and Grade 7 Alopecia: A Case Series A 20-patient case series found beard hair a worthwhile additional donor source for follicular unit extraction in advanced (grade 6–7) androgenetic alopecia, with minimal complications.
- Development of the Alopecia Areata Patient Priority Outcomes Instrument: A Qualitative Study Interviews with 36 patients produced an 11-item patient-reported outcome tool capturing the alopecia areata impacts patients prioritize most.
- Evaluation of biophysical skin parameters and hair changes in patients with acne vulgaris treated with isotretinoin, and the effect of biotin use on these parameters In 60 acne patients on isotretinoin, adding 10 mg/day biotin increased anagen hairs, decreased telogen hairs and preserved skin hydration over four months.
- Dermal macrophage and its potential in inducing hair follicle regeneration A review summarizing how dermal macrophage subsets regulate stress-induced hair follicle regeneration, pointing to possible future cell-targeting therapies.
- Hair Loss Caused by Gain-of-Function Mutant TRPV3 Is Associated with Premature Differentiation of Follicular Keratinocytes In mice, a gain-of-function TRPV3 mutation caused hair loss by driving premature differentiation of follicular keratinocytes, explaining Olmsted syndrome hair loss.
- Establishment of an Efficient Primary Culture System for Human Hair Follicle Stem Cells Using the Rho-Associated Protein Kinase Inhibitor Y-27632 A lab study shows the ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 enables efficient short-term culture of human hair follicle stem cells while preserving their follicle-regenerating ability.
- Immunological Properties of Atopic Dermatitis-Associated Alopecia Areata Blood and skin analysis suggests type 2 immunity contributes to alopecia areata in patients with extrinsic atopic dermatitis, unlike non-atopic cases.
- An appraisal of laboratory models of androgenetic alopecia: A systematic review A systematic review of 101 AGA laboratory studies recommends shifting to human 3-D organoid and organotypic skin models over animal and 2-D cell models.
- Low quality of life and high HSS‐29 scores reflect the risk of loss to follow‐up: a study in patients with androgenetic alopecia Low quality of life and high HSS-29 scores identify androgenetic alopecia patients at risk of dropping out of follow-up.
- Alopecia areata flare patterns in children and young adults while on systemic tofacitinib A study examines alopecia areata flare patterns in children and young adults taking systemic tofacitinib.
- Factors Influencing Depression in Korean Men with Androgenic Alopecia A study of factors influencing depression in Korean men with androgenetic alopecia.
- Alopecia and severity of COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in Peru In 98 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Peru, men with androgenetic alopecia had much higher odds of moderate-to-severe disease (OR 80.2), alongside older age.
- Establishment and Clinical Application of the Concept of Invalid Extraction Rates in Follicular Unit Extraction In 30 patients, three trainee surgeons' invalid follicle extraction rates declined with practice, showing extraction skill improves measurably with experience.
- Application of Topical Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata: A Review and Update A review summarizes the pharmacology, efficacy and tolerability of topical immunotherapy agents for extensive or recalcitrant alopecia areata.
- Recent Insight on the Management of Lupus Erythematosus Alopecia A review of lupus-related hair loss recommends antimalarials and topical steroids first-line, noting evidence is sparse and scarring needs prompt treatment.
- Add-on effect of plum-blossom needling in alopecia areata: a qualitative evidence synthesis A meta-analysis of 11 mostly low-quality trials found adding plum-blossom needling to conventional alopecia areata treatment modestly improved regrowth rates without added adverse events.