238 citations,
October 1994 in “Current opinion in genetics & development”
The document concludes that recent research has improved understanding of skin diseases and the balance between cell growth and differentiation in the epidermis.
Minoxidil's effectiveness is limited by the need for sulfation and proper transport to hair follicles, with tretinoin potentially enhancing its effects by promoting enzyme activity and keratinocyte differentiation. Tretinoin may improve minoxidil's response by boosting the expression of necessary enzymes and transporters.
MCL-1 is important for hair follicle stem cell survival, but its impact on human hair regrowth is unclear. Minoxidil and finasteride are the main treatments, with doubts about new discoveries leading to effective human solutions soon.
Androgenetic alopecia is caused by DHT affecting hair growth. Finasteride and minoxidil are used to manage hair loss by blocking DHT and promoting hair growth.
Scalp biopsies are crucial for diagnosing hair loss conditions like Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) and retrograde hair loss, as treatments like finasteride and dutasteride may not be effective if other conditions are present. Combining PPAR-GAMMA agonists with retinoids could improve treatments for conditions like Lichen Planopilaris.