Tweet
Dr. Van Voorhees: Does this research open up possible avenues for treatment approaches that have not yet been considered? Are there currently drugs under development which might be utilized?
Dr. Cotsarelis: This work suggested that D2 was working through the GPR44 receptor to inhibit hair growth. It turns out that there are compounds under development by a number of companies to inhibit this receptor. They are being developed for asthma and allergic rhinitis. PGD2 causes bronchoconstriction — when you inhibit its receptor you relax smooth muscle so it helps with lung disorders. No one is developing a topical formulation, but we think if you did, it would be a potential treatment for alopecia.
Dr. Cotsarelis: This work suggested that D2 was working through the GPR44 receptor to inhibit hair growth. It turns out that there are compounds under development by a number of companies to inhibit this receptor. They are being developed for asthma and allergic rhinitis. PGD2 causes bronchoconstriction — when you inhibit its receptor you relax smooth muscle so it helps with lung disorders. No one is developing a topical formulation, but we think if you did, it would be a potential treatment for alopecia.
Dr. Van Voorhees: Should this allow for reversal of previously lost hairs or do you expect that it will only play a role in retaining hairs that have not yet miniaturized?
Dr. Cotsarelis: We don’t know. Like anything you’d have to test a large number of people to see how they respond. We don’t know if people who are already completely bald will regrow hair. We do know that the stem cells are present in men who are balding so if this is indeed the inhibitor preventing stem cells from making progenitor cells, there’s a possibility this would help there as well.
Dr. Cotsarelis: We don’t know. Like anything you’d have to test a large number of people to see how they respond. We don’t know if people who are already completely bald will regrow hair. We do know that the stem cells are present in men who are balding so if this is indeed the inhibitor preventing stem cells from making progenitor cells, there’s a possibility this would help there as well.
Comment