Discovery of Hair Loss Factor Might Lead to New Treatment By W. Darren

Alopecia areata or patchy hair loss is a baldness condition that usually occurs among men and women of all ages. In the past years, the cause of this condition has been unknown. Fortunately, new researchers have prompted the discovery of various factors that might have caused the occurrence of this disease. In a study made by researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, they discovered a key factor that triggers the occurrence of alopecia.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, shows that alopecia areata occurs when an immune system problem happens. Researchers explain that the hair loss condition occurs when the white blood cells of the body mistakenly attacks the hair follicles. White blood cells are part of our immune system that fights off foreign objects that can potentially harm the body. Based on the study, researchers point out that some proteins produced by the body induce the attack on the roots of the skin cells. These proteins are produced by melanocytes.

Importance of the Study…

The study is important primarily because a cure for alopecia areata is much needed. At the latest count conducted by the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF), 1.7 percent of entire global population is afflicted with this condition. In the United States alone, this affects more than four million people.

This hair loss condition usually starts with small bald patches but it can lead to complete hair loss. The hair loss condition begins at a very early age so it is often very stressful and devastating among the patients. Hair loss might promote various kinds of social anxieties due to the loss of confidence and discrimination.

Possible Treatment for Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is a temporary hair loss condition. Its effect may last from anywhere between a few weeks to several years. When a person has this condition, bald patches might be observe on his scalp and in other parts of his body. Most of the time, the effects of alopecia areata may be countered through the use of some medications such as Finasteride and Minoxidil. However, it should be noted that although the hair loss might stop, it usually recurs after two years or more.

According to Dr. Amos Gilhar, an associate professor of medicine at the Technion Faculty of Medicine, and Dr. Richard S. Kalish, associate professor of dermatology at Stony Brook University, alopecia areata has no cure yet. However, they pointed out that based on the study which they conducted among the patients at the Flieman Geriatric Rehabilitation Hospital in Haifa, new treatments and possible cure for this kind of alopecia might be discovered soon.

During the course of the study, the researchers took grafts of skin from the bald patches of patients who had alopecia areata. They transferred these grafts to “special mice without immune systems”. As such, the grafts were not rejected. Instead, the patches started to produce hair again. However, when the researchers injected the patient’s T cells on the mice, the immune system’s attack on the hair follicles recurred. Surprisingly however, hair loss only resumed on those grafted tissues which were exposed to the protein fragments from the human patient’s body. These findings implied that the protein fragments acted as molecules that promote the body’s natural immune response.

Among the possible treatments that the researchers are eyeing is the desensitization of the immune system. Once the immune system is “desensitized”, it will no longer be sensitive to the proteins produced by the melanocytes. So an attack to the hair follicles will no longer occur.

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