Approval of a new drug against hair loss in the United States has made the news lately area. The good news has undoubtedly received a lot of attention, but it is appropriate to make it clear that this type of hair loss is not something we encounter every day.

what is alopecia area?
alopecia area It is an autoimmune disease, meaning it occurs when our immune system attacks the body itself. In this case, the hair is lined with roots. The disease can affect men and women at different ages. The main (and often only) symptom, “irregular” hair loss, usually does not last long, except in some cases. The most serious cases are associated with early onset of the disease, the appearance of eczema, or general body hair loss.

treatment so far.
Except where hair loss is common, affected areas usually heal within a few months without the need for treatment. However, some treatments used so far have included steroid injection, ultraviolet therapy, and medications applied to the skin.

What is the new treatment?
Baricitinib, marketed as Olumiant, is an oral anti-inflammatory therapy originally intended to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Its use with other drugs has also been approved to treat some cases of Covid.

Before being approved for new use, the treatment was tested in several randomized, placebo-controlled trials. Details of these were published as articles in the journal. New England Journal of Medicine.

Treatment, yes, counts with secondary effects. These include upper respiratory and urinary tract infections, headache, acne, anemia or hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol).

Without a definitive cure for “widespread” alopecia.
There are different reasons that can lead to hair loss or hair loss, alopecia area only one particular disease. Except for hair loss as a result of certain conditions or medical treatments like this, there is no known cure for alopecia. Hair loss that is not caused by disease or other external factors is usually associated with age and age-related hormonal changes. There are many factors associated with this form of alopecia, but the two main known factors are genetics and stress (physical or emotional).

There are some treatments and obvious pathways to consider, both surgical (hair grafts) and chemical such as finasteride or monoxidil. The latter, for example, is a compound that was originally designed as a remedy against hypertension but is used topically to treat baldness. Finasteride, on the other hand, is consumed orally and its main application is not the treatment of baldness, but rather the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy.

A recent study compared the effectiveness of these two drugs with a third, dutasteride. It was the latter that offered the best results when it came to fighting male androgenic alopecia. Also in this case it is a drug with another primary purpose, in this case curing prostate problems.

The future of the fight against alopecia.
Stem cells may represent the next step in hair loss treatments. The hair growth process necessarily goes through the stem cells of the hair follicle. This makes it important to understand how they go about their business, which proteins activate them, and under what conditions they shut down. These cells can even be cultured to grow into hair follicles that will later be used in treatments.

Given the role of heredity in hair loss, another logical avenue of research is genetics. An article published in October natural aging He investigated the role of various genes in the “escape” of stem cells from hair follicles. We will have to wait years for developments like this to bear fruit. The truth is, treatments are limited for now and we will have to continue living with these and other signs of age.

Image | abbasima