Frontiers in the Neuroendocrine Controls of Hair Growth

The 2007 document discusses the role of neuroendocrine mechanisms in regulating the hair follicle cycle, emphasizing the hair follicle as a mini-organ influenced by local signaling and various growth factors and neurohormones. It describes the skin and pilosebaceous units as both targets and sources of stress mediators, akin to a local hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and examines the impact of melanocortins, prolactin, and sex steroids on hair biology. The document suggests that disruptions in the "brain-skin connection" may exacerbate stress-related skin diseases and that insights into local and systemic stress responses could lead to novel treatments for these conditions. It concludes that the hair follicle is an important focus for research in the fields of skin, hair, stress biology, and neuroimmunology, with the potential for neuroendocrine and stress-related events to affect hair growth and cycling.