Low-Dose Metformin and Profibrotic Signature in Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia

September 2024 in “ JAMA Dermatology ”

Aaron Bao, Aasheen Qadri, Arun K. Gadre, Elizabeth Will, David Collins, Rexford S. Ahima, Lindsey Bordone, Crystal Aguh

metformin central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia CCCA keratinization hair cycle fibrosis inflammation transcriptomic analysis

TLDR Low-dose metformin may help hair regrowth and reduce inflammation in CCCA.

In a case series involving 12 Black female patients with treatment-refractory central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA), low-dose oral metformin (500 mg daily) led to clinical improvement in 9 patients and hair regrowth in 6 patients after 6 months. Transcriptomic analysis of scalp biopsies from 4 patients showed upregulation of hair growth pathways and downregulation of fibrotic pathways. These results suggest that metformin may reverse the fibrotic transcriptional signature in CCCA and promote hair regrowth, indicating its potential as a targeted therapy for this scarring alopecia.

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Research cited in this study

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