September 202553
Oral spironolactone added to minoxidil was reported to give greater improvement in premenopausal women than minoxidil alone. Platelet-rich plasma across 43 trials was found to improve hair density and reduce shedding, without increasing hair thickness. Radiofrequency microneedling plus minoxidil was shown to outgrow fractional CO2 laser plus minoxidil in women. Hair transplantation complications were found generally limited to pain, swelling and donor-site edema, though rare arteriovenous fistulas were linked to punch-graft FUE. PRP injections and microneedling each raised hair count and thickness, with no significant difference between them. Topical rb-bFGF applied to grafts was reported to raise follicle survival and halve early post-transplant shedding. Iontophoresis-delivered dutasteride gel was reported to improve hair density and shaft diameter in treatment-resistant patients. Nanofat-derived concentrate injections were reported to increase hair count, thickness and pigmentation in men. GLP-1 agonists and hair loss showed conflicting evidence, with both shedding and regrowth reported, leaving the link unclear.
- Efficacy and safety of oral spironolactone for female pattern hair loss in premenopausal women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group pilot study In 48 premenopausal women, adding oral spironolactone 100 mg to minoxidil gave greater moderate-to-marked improvement (38% vs 9%), though menstrual irregularities affected 37.5%.
- Hair Loss Associated With Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Receptor Agonist Use: A Systematic Review A systematic review of five studies covering 2,905 adults on GLP-1 receptor agonists found conflicting evidence on hair loss, with some reports of regrowth and others of shedding, so the link remains unclear.
- Platelet-Rich Plasma in the Management of Alopecia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Evidence Across 43 randomized trials, PRP improved hair density and reduced hair loss but did not significantly increase hair thickness; activated PRP worked better.
- Fractional CO2 Versus Radiofrequency as Hair Regrowth Enhancers for Female Androgenic Alopecia: A Randomized Controlled Trial In a 30-woman trial, radiofrequency microneedling plus minoxidil grew more hair than fractional CO2 laser plus minoxidil or minoxidil alone.
- Complications Following Hair Transplantation: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis A meta-analysis of 45 studies found hair transplantation generally safe, with pain, swelling and donor-site edema the most common complications and rare arteriovenous fistulas linked to punch-graft FUE.
- Phase I Clinical Trial: Evaluating the Efficacy, Safety, and Patient Satisfaction of Platelet‐Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections and Microneedling for Androgenetic Alopecia Treatment In a 40-patient trial, PRP injections and microneedling both raised hair count and thickness with no significant difference between the two methods.
- Efficacy and Safety of Rb‐bFGF in Hair Transplantation: A Prospective and Comparative Study In a 60-patient randomized trial, soaking grafts and applying topical rb-bFGF raised 12-month follicle survival to 91% versus 81% and halved early hair loss after transplantation.
- Injection of the Concentrate Derived from Nanofat Graft Promotes Hair Growth in Patients of Male Androgenetic Alopecia: A Clinical Pilot Study In ten men, nanofat-derived concentrate injections increased hair count, thickness and pigmentation over 12 months without serious adverse events.
- Clinical and Histopathological Features of Hair Loss in 17 Japanese Patients With Hematologic Disorders Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Chemotherapy: A Case Series. In 17 Japanese patients with chronic hair loss after chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, treatments targeting follicle miniaturization such as topical minoxidil improved hair volume in 52.9%.
- Efficient Silencing of Androgen Receptor Gene via UTR-Targeting siRNAs for Androgenetic Alopecia Therapy In mice, a cholesterol-conjugated siRNA silencing the androgen receptor gene regrew hair, pointing to a new genetic approach for pattern hair loss.
- Application of Thulium 1927-nm Laser for Androgenic Alopecia Treatment in Indonesian Patients In 10 patients, 1927-nm thulium laser improved photographic scores and satisfaction for androgenetic alopecia with no treatment-related adverse events over short-term follow-up.
- Lithium chloride-treated human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells-derived exsomes promote hair growth by regulating miR-146a-5p-wnt pathway In mice, exosomes from lithium-treated umbilical cord stem cells promoted hair regeneration by delivering miR-146a-5p, which activates Wnt signalling in dermal papilla cells.
- Psychological Dimensions of Hair Transplantation: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence A narrative review finds hair transplantation can improve self-esteem when expectations are managed, and recommends preoperative psychological screening to avoid dissatisfaction.
- Effectiveness and safety of baricitinib in severe alopecia areata: 48‐week results In 253 real-world patients with severe alopecia areata, 63% achieved near-full regrowth (SALT ≤20) after 48 weeks of baricitinib, with adverse events in 9.4%.
- Ivarmacitinib for the treatment of adults with severe alopecia areata: Results from a phase 3 trial In a 330-patient phase 3 trial, ivarmacitinib achieved substantial regrowth (SALT ≤20) in 35-41% of severe alopecia areata patients versus 9% on placebo.
- Direct-to-Consumer Teledermatology for Male Androgenetic Alopecia: Narrative Review A narrative review finds direct-to-consumer teledermatology for male pattern hair loss improves access, adherence and satisfaction but may raise drug costs.
- Full-Spectrum phototherapy in hair loss management: a systematic review of wavelength-dependent mechanisms, clinical efficacy, and future directions A systematic review maps how different light wavelengths act on hair follicles, from red light stimulating dermal papilla cells in pattern hair loss to UV restoring immune privilege in alopecia areata.
- Expert consensus for prevention, diagnosis and management of persistent chemotherapy-induced alopecia. An expert consensus defined persistent chemotherapy-induced alopecia and recommended scalp cooling and topical or low-dose oral minoxidil, while advising against finasteride and dutasteride in breast cancer survivors.
- Donor site healing in follicular unit extraction hair transplantation: currentevidence, cellular mechanisms, and future research directions A systematic review of four studies found intraoperative corticosteroids reduce post-transplant donor-site swelling and early wound care lowers folliculitis, while PRP evidence remains limited.
- Efficacy of Skin Patting and Iontophoresis with Dutasteride Gel in Male and Menopausal Female Androgenetic Alopecia: A Pilot Study In 20 treatment-resistant patients, iontophoresis-delivered 6% dutasteride gel significantly improved hair density and shaft diameter with no adverse events.
- An Exosome Regenerative Complex Plus Microneedling Promotes Hair Growth in Subjects With Self-Perceived Thinning Hair. In 30 people with thinning hair, an exosome complex with microneedling significantly raised terminal hair counts and follicular units over 120 days, with no reported adverse events.
- Systemic Treatment of Moderate to Severe Alopecia Areata in Adults: Updated Australian Expert Consensus Statement Australian consensus update incorporates TGA-approved baricitinib and ritlecitinib into treatment algorithms for moderate-to-severe alopecia areata, covering initiation, titration and discontinuation guidance.
- Analysis of trichoscopic images using deep neural networks for the diagnosis and activity assessment of alopecia areata – a retrospective study A deep-learning model diagnosed alopecia areata from scalp images with 89% accuracy and graded its activity at 83%.
- The Burden of Alopecia Areata and Management with Baricitinib in the United Arab Emirates: A Narrative Review A narrative review finds baricitinib shows promising long-term results for alopecia areata, but cost and reimbursement block access in the Middle East.
- Serum Granulysin Levels in Vitiligo and Alopecia Areata: A Potential Biomarker for Disease Activity and Dermoscopic Evaluation Serum granulysin levels were higher in vitiligo and alopecia areata patients than controls and tracked with disease activity signs, suggesting a potential biomarker.
- Squaric Acid Dibutylester Promotes Innate Immune-Driven Hair Growth with CD206+ Macrophage Accumulation in the Dermis In mice, squaric acid dibutylester regrew hair by recruiting CD206+ macrophages, and depleting macrophages blocked the effect, suggesting innate immune targets for alopecia areata.
- Global sex disparities in lifetime risk of alopecia areata: a systematic analysis from the global burden of disease study, 1990 to 2021 Global analysis shows women carry roughly twice the lifetime risk of alopecia areata as men, with risk projected to rise through 2050.
- A Patient Preference-Weighted Quantitative Benefit-Risk Analysis of Ritlecitinib for Alopecia Areata to Inform Medical Decision Making A patient-preference benefit-risk analysis found adults with alopecia areata would likely judge ritlecitinib 50 mg benefits (hair regrowth) to outweigh its risks of serious infections, blood clots and cancer, with a 70.9% predicted choice probability over placebo.
- Tetrahydroxy stilbene glucoside promotes hair regeneration by inducing Th22 cell differentiation In mice, tetrahydroxy stilbene glucoside from Polygonum multiflorum accelerated hair follicle regeneration by promoting Th22 cell differentiation and IL-22 signaling.
- The Skin Microenvironment: A Dynamic Regulator of Hair Follicle Development, Cycling and Disease A review surveys how cells, signals and metabolism in the skin microenvironment regulate hair follicle development and disease.
- Disrupted cholesterol biosynthesis and hair follicle stem cell impairment in the onset of alopecia In scalp biopsies, cultured cells and mice, disrupted cholesterol synthesis depleted hair follicle stem cells and permanently blocked hair regrowth in scarring alopecia.
- Investigating Potential Causal Relationships Between Plasma Protein Ratios and Alopecia Areata: A Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization Study Mendelian randomization linked two plasma protein ratios (AGRN/HSPG2 and DECR1/FKBP1B) to higher alopecia areata risk, suggesting causal roles.
- Hair Follicle Stem Cell SLC3A2 Regulates Epithelial Regenerative Properties In mice, deleting the gene SLC3A2 in hair follicle stem cells caused stem cell loss, misdirected cell fate and blocked hair growth.
- The citrullinating enzyme PADI4 governs progenitor cell proliferation and translation in developing hair follicles Lab work shows the enzyme PADI4 restrains hair-follicle progenitor proliferation by citrullinating the translational repressor 4E-BP1 during follicle development.
- Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway Targeting Androgenetic Alopecia: How Far Can We Go Beyond Minoxidil and Finasteride? A medicinal chemistry perspective assesses Wnt/β-catenin pathway targets as candidates for future androgenetic alopecia drugs.
- Duration of current alopecia areata episode predicts the effectiveness of baricitinib in Japanese patients with alopecia areata: a single-center retrospective study In 27 patients on baricitinib, a current episode under four years predicted better regrowth, supporting earlier treatment of alopecia areata.
- Low molecular weight porcine placenta peptide (Placenderm®) as a functional ingredient for hair health: evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies In cell cultures and mice, a porcine placenta peptide (Placenderm) boosted hair cell proliferation and accelerated hair regrowth, suggesting potential as a functional food ingredient.
- From rare hypertrichosis to common alopecia: new pathways for hair regeneration a commentary linking rare hypertrichosis to common alopecia as a source of new hair regeneration pathways.
- Intralesional Corticosteroid Versus Cryotherapy for Alopecia Areata: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis A systematic review and meta-analysis compares intralesional corticosteroid versus cryotherapy for alopecia areata.
- Comparison of Current International Guidelines for the Management of Alopecia Areata—Comprehensive Review A review compares international alopecia areata guidelines on treatment options and comorbidities.
- Overlapping features of atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata: from pathogenesis to treatment A review examines shared immune pathways and emerging targeted therapies in overlapping atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata.
- A meta-analysis of chemokines in alopecia areata: recruiting immune cells toward the hair follicle A meta-analysis of 46 studies found Th1 chemokines CXCL9 and CXCL10 consistently elevated in alopecia areata blood and skin.
- Microneedling Combined With Drugs and Stem Cells for Treating Androgenetic Alopecia. reviews microneedling combined with drugs and stem cells for androgenetic alopecia.
- From mechanisms to therapies: current advances breakthroughs in alopecia areata immunopathology A review maps the immune cells and JAK-STAT signaling behind alopecia areata and the targeted drugs built on them.
- From Wound to Hair Follicle: Unravelling the Mechanisms and Molecular Networks in Wound‐Induced Hair Follicle Neogenesis A review examines the signalling mechanisms behind wound-induced formation of new hair follicles and their therapeutic potential.
- Detection of Serum Levels of Interleukins-17, 21, 6 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in Patients with Patchy Alopecia Areata and Their Association with Disease Severity Patients with patchy alopecia areata had significantly elevated serum IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-17A and IL-21, with levels correlating with disease severity and duration.
- Hair regeneration: Mechano-activation and related therapeutic approaches. A review describes how skin stretching activates hair follicle stem cells via WNT/BMP signalling, and surveys MSC, secretome and PRP therapies.
- Microneedling Combined With Drugs and Stem Cells for Treating Androgenetic Alopecia. reviews microneedling combined with drugs and stem cells for androgenetic alopecia.
- A Canadian Consensus on Androgenetic Alopecia: Approach and Management
- Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia: A Survey of Treatment Practices Among Dermatology Residents and Attending Physicians
- Aqueous Dispersion of Unmodified Fullerene C60: Stimulation of Hair Growth and Study of a New Molecular Target for Interaction
- Exosomes and Hair Regeneration: A Systematic Review of Clinical Evidence Across Alopecia Types and Exosome Sources
- Study of association between valproic acid levels, biotinidase activity and hair loss in Indian population: A cross-sectional comparative study