Pathomechanism of Androgenetic Alopecia and New Treatment
January 2004
in “
Enshou saisei
”
TLDR Male pattern baldness is caused by certain cells in hair follicles and could potentially be treated by targeting a specific growth factor, TGF-β1.
The 2003 study "Pathomechanism of androgenetic alopecia and new treatment" investigated the causes of androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness) and potential treatments. The research discovered that hair growth is regulated by paracrine regulation, with dermal papilla cells (DPCs) in hair follicles being the target cells for androgens. These DPCs express androgen receptor and type II 5a-reductase mRNA. The study also found that androgens stimulate the growth of keratinocytes in beard DPCs, suggesting the production of androgen-dependent growth factors, including Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I). However, androgens were found to inhibit the growth of keratinocytes in DPCs from the balding frontal scalp, mediated by TGF-β1 from the DPCs. The study concluded that TGF-β1 could be a potential target for new treatments of androgenetic alopecia. At the time, two treatments, Minoxidil and Finasteride, were recently introduced for androgenetic alopecia.
