TLDR Alopecia areata involves persistent gene abnormalities and immune activity, even in regrown hair, suggesting a risk of relapse.
The study analyzed hair follicle samples from 25 alopecia areata (AA) patients and 23 healthy controls, revealing transcriptional abnormalities associated with AA. It found increased expression of chemokines and receptors in active AA bulbs, indicating immune cell recruitment and inflammation. Abnormal gene expression persisted even in regrown hair, suggesting a predisposition to relapse. A core signature of five genes was upregulated in all AA stages, supporting an intrinsic abnormality in AA. The research highlighted the role of resident memory T cells and suggested potential targets for primary prevention of AA.
10 citations,
September 2014 in “Australasian Journal of Dermatology” Understanding alopecia areata's patterns can improve future research and treatments.
701 citations,
August 2014 in “Nature medicine” Alopecia areata can be reversed by JAK inhibitors, promoting hair regrowth.
79 citations,
December 2013 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings” Alopecia areata may be treated by restoring hair follicle immune privilege and adjusting immune responses.
286 citations,
June 2012 in “Nature Immunology” Hair follicles help attract immune cells to the skin during stress.
421 citations,
April 2012 in “The New England Journal of Medicine” Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune condition causing hair loss with no cure and treatments that often don't work well.
61 citations,
September 2010 in “Genomics” The study found that immune responses disrupt hair growth cycles, causing hair loss in alopecia areata.
717 citations,
June 2010 in “Nature” Alopecia areata involves both innate and adaptive immunity, with specific genes linked to the disease.
148 citations,
December 2018 in “Journal of autoimmunity” Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease causing patchy hair loss, often with other autoimmune disorders, but its exact causes are unknown.
May 2018 in “Journal of cosmetology & trichology” Combining platelet-rich plasma therapy with prostaglandin-F eye drops can significantly regrow hair in alopecia universalis.
