The autoimmune aspect of hair loss
A fascinating study was just published in Medicinski arhiv (Medical Archives, Journal of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Bosnia and Herzegovina) that illuminates the type of autoimmune dysfunction involved in alopecia areata, a common cause of hair loss. The authors state:
"Alopecia areata (AA) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by nonscarring hair loss on the scalp or other parts of the body. A wide range of clinical presentations can occur-from a single patch of hair loss (alopecia unilocularis, AUl), multiple patches (alopecia multilocularis, AM) to complete loss of hair on the scalp (alopecia totalis, AT) or the entire body (alopecia universalis, AU). The cause of AA is unknown although most evidence supports the hypothesis that AA is a T-cell mediated autoimmune disease of the hair follicle and that cytokines play an important role."
The authors set out to evaluate serum concentrations of interferon-gamma (IFN-g, a major proinflammatory cytokine) in 60 patients with AA in comparison to 20 healthy subjects. They also investigated for an association between IFN-g and the clinical type of AA and duration of the disease. What did their data show?
"The serum concentration of IFN-g in patients with AA was significantly higher than that in the control group. Significantly elevated serum IFN-g were noticed in patients with AU type, especially those suffering from AT, compared with both patients with AUI and patients with AM clinical type. There was no significant difference in serum IFN-g concentration between patients with AUI and AM group, as well as between patients with AT and AU. No correlations were found between duration of disease and the serum levels of IFN-g."
This clearly shows the autoimmune basis of hair loss in general and the role of IFN-g in particular. Autoimmune conditions require a functional approach that uses up-to-date methods to objectively define the underlying causal factors such as IFN-g for treatments that are targeted, physiological and rational. The authors conclude:
"Our findings confirm previously published data that the Th1 type cytokine IFN-g is elevated in the serum of AA patients."