Gut Dysbiosis in Alopecia Areata Patients Reveals Overabundance of Firmicutes and Underrepresentation of Bacteroides

    May 2019 in “ Journal of Investigative Dermatology ”
    B. Sallee, Rolando Pérez‐Lorenzo, E.H. Wang, J.C. Chen, A.R. Abdelaziz, Lindsey Bordone, Angela M. Christiano
    TLDR Alopecia Areata patients have too many Firmicutes and too few Bacteroides in their gut.
    The study investigated the gut microbiome composition in 26 Alopecia Areata (AA) patients and found significant differences compared to healthy controls, specifically an overabundance of Firmicutes and underrepresentation of Bacteroides. These findings mirrored results from a mouse model of AA, suggesting that gut microbiota dysbiosis plays a crucial role in the disease. No differences were observed in the skin or hair follicle microbiome. The results supported the potential for novel therapeutic strategies, such as Fecal Microbiota Transfer (FMT) and targeted microbial therapy, to restore healthy gut microbiota and improve AA outcomes.
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