Changes in the hair growth cycle in women with non-scarring alopecia

One of the key elements in the pathophysiological process of androgenetic alopecia and telogen hair loss is the change of hair cycle. Growth factors controlling the development and cycle of the hair follicle have thus far been established. However, the role of growth factors in the pathogenesis of alopecia remains to be revealed.Objective.This study was aimed at investigating the expression of the VEGF, KGF, EGF and TGF-01 growth factors in women with androgenetic alopecia and telogen hair loss, as well as their role in the development of alopecia.Materials and methods. 60 female patients diagnosed with telogen hair loss (30 women) and androgenetic alopecia (30 women) were observed. In order to investigate the expression of the VEGF, KGF, EGF and TGF-01 growth factors, we conducted an immunofluorescent analysis of skin samples obtained by punch biopsy (4 mm) from the frontoparietal scalp area of patients with androgenetic alopecia and telogen hair loss. 15 samples obtained from healthy people were used as a reference group.Results.A change in the expression of the VEGF, KGF and TGF-01 growth factors in women with androgenetic alopecia and telogen hair loss was established in comparison with healthy individuals. A correlation was found between the expression of the growth factors under study, age (p ≤ 0.05), as well as the character and duration of the disease (p ≤ 0.05) in women with non-scarring alopecia. The expression of the growth factors is found to be dependent on the clinical form of alopecia (p < 0.001).Conclusion.The VEGF growth factor is established to have the most significant effect on the development of androgenetic alopecia in women, with the KGF, TGF-01 and EGF factors being less significant as the predictors of this disorder. The VEGF growth factor is shown to affect telogen hair loss to a greater extent compared to the EGF factor. Our study confirms differences in the pathogenesis of androgenetic alopecia and telogen hair loss in women. The findings suggest that the VEGF and KGF growth factors, as well as TGF-01 inhibitors may be used as potential pharmacological agents for treating patients suffering from androgenetic alopecia and telogen hair loss.

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The Therapeutic Response of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) for Androgenetic Alopecia Showed No Correlation with Growth Factors and Platelet Number

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v128.22.2637.2637 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 128 (22) ◽

pp. 2637-2637 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bruno Lima Rodrigues ◽

Silmara Aparecida De Lima Montalvão ◽

Joyce Annichinno-Bizzacchi ◽

Rebeca Cancela ◽

Francesca Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Factors ◽

Growth Factor ◽

Hair Loss ◽

Hair Growth ◽

Therapeutic Response ◽

Platelet Rich Plasma ◽

Androgenetic Alopecia ◽

Autologous Serum ◽

Platelet Number ◽

The Mean

Abstract Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is characterized by a pattern hair loss. Currently, treatment with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has shown promising results due to the growth factors (GFs) released by the platelets. However, the analysis of therapeutic response according to GFs levels and platelet number in PRP has not been established. Objective: Investigate the therapeutic response to treatment of AGA using a standard method of PRP preparation, and the relation with GFs levels and platelet number. Methods: Inclusion criteria comprised diagnosis of AGA-III-vertex profile according to the Norwood-Hamilton scale, age between 18 and 50 years. Exclusion criteria comprised female gender, previous hair transplantation, any disease related to hair loss such as thyroid disease and/or iron deficiency, neoplasia present or past, kidney, liver, infectious, hematologic or rheumatoid disease, use of antiplatelet and/or anti-inflammatory drugs. All patients provided written informed consent approved by the ethic committee from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). The protocol comprised 20 subcutaneous injections of 100 µL in the scalp totaling 4 applications every fifteen days, with evaluation performed pretreatment (t0), 45 (t1) and 150 (t2) days after the start of the protocol. The endpoints for therapeutic response were hair growth and increase of percentage of anagen hairs evaluated by TrichoScan. For each patient 40 mL of peripheral blood were collected in ACD tubes. L-PRP (PRP with leukocytes) was performed, with double centrifugation (300 g for 5 minutes, and 700 g for 17 minutes). The platelets were counted in the baseline and in the PRP samples. PRP was activated with autologous serum. The platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF) were measured by Luminex technique (Millipore®, USA), in two different PRP samples from each patient. Results: During the period of August to December of 2014, 15 male patients were included in the study. The median of platelets in PRP was increased by 5 folds in all four PRP preparations with a minimum of 728.9 and maximum 1.901,90 x 106 cel/uL, and median values of 1.082 x 106 cel/uL (range 608 - 2.023). The baseline number of platelets and PRP preparation showed a significant correlation (r = 0.839, p < 0.0001). The variability of platelet numbers from each individual during the four applications was 19.7% with a minimum of 0.50% and a maximum 56.3%. GF quantification of two different PRP preparations showed a similar intra-individual variation, with a mean of variability coefficient of 18.4% for VEGF, 20.9% for PDGF, and 21.6% for EGF (Table 1). EGF and PDGF concentrations showed a significant correlation to PRP platelets number (r = 0.8287 and P < 0.0001, and r = 0.6925 and P=0.0014, respectively) (Figure 1). Our results showed a significant increase in hair count (P = 0.0018) and anagen hairs (P = 0.0070) in 86.6% and 53.3% of patients, respectively. However, no correlation was found between platelet counts and GFs levels with therapeutic response. The patients who presented high levels of GFs did not show better results for hair growth or anagen hair than who presented lower levels. Conclusion: Our results corroborate previous studies that showed PRP as a quite promising therapeutic option for AGA, up to 3 months after the injections. However, there was a lack of correlation between the therapeutic responses and platelet numbers or GFs levels. Although, the GFs were not considered biomarker for PRP, it may play an important role in the PRP therapeutic effect. In addition, our results suggest that the PRP effects depend on an orchestration between many mechanisms involved in the increase of number of hairs and its growth. Furthermore, local receptors might present a central role in this response. Graphs of correlation between the platelet mean in PRP and the mean of the growth factor concentrations Graphs of correlation between the platelet mean in PRP and the mean of the growth factor concentrations Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Disorders of Hair

10.2310/fm.1107 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

James Q Del Rosso

Keyword(s):

Hair Loss ◽

Alopecia Areata ◽

Hair Growth ◽

Growth Cycle ◽

Hair Follicles ◽

Common Type ◽

Diagnosis And Treatment ◽

Basic Knowledge ◽

Androgenetic Alopecia ◽

Broad Overview

A basic knowledge of the hair growth cycle is needed to evaluate disorders of hair growth. This chapter presents a broad overview of the physiology and evaluation of hair growth, as well as discussions of specific types of alopecia. The epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of androgenetic alopecia, the most common type of nonscarring hair loss, are covered. Diffuse hair shedding is generalized hair loss over the entire scalp. Diagnosis and treatment of telogen effluvium, anagen arrest (anagen effluvium), and other causes of diffuse hair shedding are covered in detail. Alopecia areata, typically characterized by patchy hair loss; cicatricial alopecia, which results from permanent scarring of the hair follicles; and miscellaneous causes of hair loss are also discussed. Tables list the causes of diffuse and cicatricial alopecia, telogen effluvium, and miscellaneous chemicals and categories of drugs that can cause alopecia, as well as miscellaneous causes of hair loss. Included is an algorithm outlining the approach to diagnosing nonscarring alopecia, as well as a variety of clinical photographs. This review contains 9 highly rendered figures, 6 tables, and 42 references.

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Promoted Growth of Murine Hair Follicles by Controlled Release of Growth Factors from Biodegradable Hydrogel

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.288-289.133 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 288-289 ◽

pp. 133-138

Author(s):

Makoto Ozeki ◽

Yasuhiko Tabata

Keyword(s):

Growth Factors ◽

Controlled Release ◽

Growth Factor ◽

Hair Follicle ◽

Skin Color ◽

Growth Cycle ◽

Hair Shaft ◽

Hair Follicles ◽

Follicle Growth ◽

Hair Follicle Growth

This study is an investigation to evaluate how the controlled release of different growth factors affects the hair follicle growth of mice in the second anagen stage of hair cycle. For the controlled release of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), they were incorporating into biodegradable gelatin hydrogels, while a biodegradable collagen hydrogel was used for incorporation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). After subcutaneous implantation of the different hydrogels incorporating each growth factor or injection of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) containing the same dose of growth factor into the back of mice, the hair follicle growth was evaluated photometrically and histologically based on four parameters: the skin color of reverse side of the implanted or injected site, the number of vessels newly formed, the area occupied by hair follicle tissue, and the hair length. The area in close proximity to the implanted site of hydrogels incorporating growth factor was still dark in color 10 days after application. The hydrogel incorporating any type of growth factor enabled the hair follicles to increase the size, leading significantly enhanced area occupied by hair follicles per unit area of tissue. Implantation of the hydrogels incorporating growth factor increased significantly the number of blood vessels newly formed. Moreover, the length of hair shaft was elongated by the hydrogel incorporating growth factor to a significantly higher extent than the corresponding growth factor. Neither empty gelatin nor collagen hydrogels affected the hair follicle growth. These results indicate that the hydrogel incorporating growth factor induced the anagen-preservable activity. We conclude that the controlled release enabled growth factors to positively act on the hair growth cycle of mice, irrespective of the factor type.

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Activation of Hair Cell Growth Factors by Linoleic Acid in Malva verticillata Seed

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26082117 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (8) ◽

pp. 2117

Author(s):

Hwa Sun Ryu ◽

JiYeon Jeong ◽

Chun Mong Lee ◽

Kwang Sik Lee ◽

Jung-No Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Factors ◽

Linoleic Acid ◽

Growth Factor ◽

Hair Loss ◽

Keratinocyte Growth Factor ◽

Dermal Papilla ◽

Lifestyle Changes ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Dermal Papilla Cells ◽

Seed Extracts

Hair loss by excessive stress from work and lifestyle changes has become a growing concern, particularly among young individuals. However, most drugs for alopecia impose a plethora of side effects. We have found the powerful impact of Malva verticillata seed extracts on alleviating hair loss. This study further isolated effective chemicals in M. verticillata seed extracts by liquid silica gel column chromatography. Under the screening for the growth rate (%) of human follicles dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs), we identified linoleic acid (LA) and oleic acid in n-hexane of M. verticillate (MH)2 fraction. LA treatment activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling and induced HFDPCs growth by increasing the expression of cell cycle proteins such as cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 2. LA treatment also increased several growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-1, hepatocyte growth factor, and keratinocyte growth factor, in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, LA significantly inhibited Dickkopf-related protein expression (DKK-1), a primary alopecia signaling by dihydrotestosterone. Our findings suggest that LA treatment may alleviate a testosterone-induced signaling molecule and induces HFDPCs growth by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

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Hair transplantation in androgenetic alopecia

10.25259/csdm_14_2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 20

Author(s):

Kavish Chouhan ◽

Gillian Roga

Keyword(s):

Medical Therapy ◽

Hair Loss ◽

Androgenetic Alopecia ◽

Hair Transplantation ◽

Common Cause ◽

The Past ◽

Scarring Alopecia ◽

Male Pattern

Androgenetic alopecia is the most common cause of non-scarring alopecia in men. Even though the past couple of years have seen significant advancements in the management of patterned hair loss. Medical therapy as a standalone treatment remains unsatisfactory and surgical restoration of hair has found to be extremely gratifying as far as male pattern hair loss is concerned. In this article, we will review the latest developments in the field of hair transplantation undertaken in androgenetic alopecia.

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Alopecia Fibrosante em Padrão de Distribuição Androgenética: Patogénese, Diagnóstico e Tratamento

Revista da Sociedade Portuguesa de Dermatologia e Venereologia ◽

10.29021/spdv.78.3.1222 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 78 (3) ◽

pp. 245-249

Author(s):

Ana Marcos-Pinto ◽

G. De Caprio ◽

R. Oliveira Soares

Keyword(s):

Hair Loss ◽

Early Treatment ◽

Inflammatory Infiltrate ◽

Androgenetic Alopecia ◽

Lichen Planopilaris ◽

Scarring Alopecia ◽

Area Loss ◽

Pattern Distribution

Fibrosing alopecia in a pattern distribution is a recently recognized type of scarring alopecia, with hair loss in androgens- dependent area. Loss of follicular openings, perifollicular erythema, perifollicular hyperkeratosis and anisotriquia are the trichoscopic clues and follicular lichenoid inflammatory infiltrate the important finding in histopathology. It shares features of androgenetic alopecia and lichen planopilaris. Dermatologists should be familiarized with this entity in order to optimize the diagnosis and provide early treatment to prevent irreversible follicular damage.

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