alopecia and microneedling

Disorders in the regulatory arm of the adaptive immune system result in autoimmune-mediated diseases. While systemic immunosuppression is the prevailing approach to manage them, it fails to achieve long-lasting remission due to concomitant suppression of the regulatory arm and carries the risk of heightened susceptibility to infections and malignancies. Alopecia Areata is a condition characterized by localized hair loss due to autoimmunity. The accessibility of the skin provides an opportunity for local rather than systemic intervention to avoid broad immunosuppression...

OBJECTIVE: Alopecia areata (AA) is often characterized by sudden onset of patchy hair loss. Topical corticosteroid injection is the most common treatment. This study retrospectively observed the clinical efficacy of microneedle minoxidil combined with triamcinolone acetonide in the treatment of AA. METHODS: A total of 230 patients with AA were selected. The experimental group (n = 120) received physician training and home microneedle treatment with minoxidil combined with triamcinolone acetonide once a week...

Minoxidil (MIN) is used topically to treat alopecia. However, its low absorption limits its use, warranting a new strategy to enhance its delivery into skin layers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dermal delivery of MIN by utilizing dissolved microneedles (MNs) loaded with MIN nanosuspension (MIN-NS) for hair regrowth. MIN-NS was prepared by the solvent-antisolvent precipitation technique. The particle size of MIN-NS was 226.7 ± 9.3 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.29 ± 0.17 and a zeta potential of -29...

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune condition that causes non-scarring hair loss on the scalp or other hair-bearing surfaces. Various signalling molecules regulate the hair cycle and hair follicle regeneration. These include genes, growth factors, nuclear receptors, cytokines, and subcellular signalling pathways. Growth factors can cause the vascular endothelium and dermal fibroblasts to proliferate, extend the anagen phase, and delay the initiation of catagen in the hair follicle, thereby promoting hair growth...

Although topical application of minoxidil is a widely used, FDA-approved therapy for androgenetic alopecia (AGA) treatment, it suffers from low bioavailability, the requirement for frequent long-term use, and side effects. With a similar structure as minoxidil, kopexil and kopyrrol are less toxic and have been commercialized, but show an inferior hair regeneration effect compared to minoxidil. Herein, we developed a hyaluronic acid (HA)-based dissolvable microneedles (MNs) delivery platform integrated with kopexil and kopyrrol coencapsulated nanoliposomes (KK-NLPs) to effectively and safely treat AGA...

It has been recently established that laser treatment can be combined with topical or intralesional medications to enhance the delivery of drugs and improve overall results in a variety of different dermatological disorders. The aim of this review is to evaluate the use of laser and energy-assisted drug delivery (LEADD) for the treatment of alopecia with a specific focus on ablative fractional lasers (AFL), non-ablative fractional lasers (NAFL), and radiofrequency microneedling (RFMN). A comprehensive PubMed search was performed in December 2022 for "laser-assisted drug delivery" as well as "laser" and "alopecia...

OBJECTIVE: In this study, the safety and efficacy of scalp repair serum microneedles combined with oral drug administration and topical medication were investigated for the treatment of moderate to severe androgenetic alopecia. METHODS: Twenty patients, consisting of 4 males and 16 females, who sought treatment for moderate to severe androgenetic alopecia at our hair medicine research center alopecia specialty clinic between August and December 2022 were randomly selected for the study...

OBJECTIVE: To provide dermatologists with more clinical experience in treating androgenetic alopecia, we evaluated the effect and safety of combined microneedling therapy for androgenetic alopecia. METHODS: Studies on combined microneedling for hair loss were comprehensively searched by us in PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database, and the Cochrane Library Database. The literature search spanned the period from 2012 to 2022. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed, and the literature was screened according to this criteria...

Alopecia Areata (AA) is an autoimmune-induced hair loss condition, by utilizing MNX, a hair growth-promoting compound. However, minoxidil (MNX) administration's efficacy is hindered by low bioavailability and adverse effects. To enhance its delivery, Trilayer Dissolving Microneedles (TDMN) are introduced, enabling controlled drug release. The study's primary was to establish a validated UV-Vis Spectrophotometer method for Minoxidil analysis in rat skin affected by alopecia areata. This method adheres to International Conference Harmonization (ICH) and FDA guidelines, encompassing accuracy, precision, linearity, quantification limit (QL), and detection limit (DL)...

BACKGROUND: Combination treatments may improve the utility of approved agents for the treatment of pattern hair loss (PHL); however, head-to-head comparisons are lacking. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of 5% minoxidil, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and microneedling across adults with PHL insofar as change in total hair density at 24 weeks. METHODS: We conducted a literature search in July 2022. Through our Bayesian network meta-analysis, we estimated treatments' surface under the cumulative ranking distribution (SUCRA) values and relative effects - in terms of mean difference (MD)...

BACKGROUND: Hair cycle arrest (HCA) is a chronic alopecic disorder in dogs. Clinical responses vary and are often insufficient. Microneedling (MN) has been used as a successful treatment for HCA in dogs; ideal protocols have not yet been established. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of three needle lengths for MN in dogs with HCA. ANIMALS: Six unrelated client-owned dogs, including five Pomeranians and one mixed-breed dog, diagnosed with HCA...

Skin-related immune disorders are a category of diseases that lead to the dysregulation of the body's immune response due to imbalanced immune regulation. These disorders exhibit diverse clinical manifestations and complicated pathogenesis. The long-term use of corticosteroids, anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunosuppressants as traditional treatment methods for skin-related immune disorders frequently leads to adverse reactions in patients. In addition, the effect of external preparations is not ideal in some cases due to the compacted barrier function of the stratum corneum (SC)...

Given that current androgenetic alopecia (AGA) medications have adverse effects such as sexual dysfunction and drug dependence, researchers are actively exploring natural bioactive ingredients and innovative approaches (e.g., transdermal drug delivery systems) to effectively combat hair loss with minimal side effects. Herein, we develop a new transdermal drug delivery system incorporating globefish skin collagen peptides with dissolving microneedles (GSCPs-MNs) for hair regrowth. These microneedles generate skin micro-wounds upon application, which not only improves the efficiency of bioactive ingredients delivery, but also stimulates signals involved in hair follicle (HF) regeneration...

BACKGROUND: Alopecia is a common and distressing medical condition that has been related to psychiatric disorders. Stem cell-derived conditioned medium (CM), a novel therapy for hair regeneration, has shown effectiveness in several trials. METHODS: This meta-analysis aims to explore the effectiveness of stem cell-derived CM in improving hair growth for patients of alopecia. We prospectively registered this systematic review and meta-analysis in PROSPERO (CRD42023410249)...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and explore the efficacy, safety, and pharmacoeconomics of three common strategies for pediatric alopecia areata. METHODS: Chinese pediatric alopecia areata patients meeting the criteria were included and divided into three groups based on the received treatments. The efficacy, adverse events and pharmacoeconomics of these treatments were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-four pediatric AA patients were recruited in this study...

Androgenetic alopecia is a widespread condition that is the most common type of hair loss affecting approximately 58% and 40% of men and women by the age of 50, respectively. Patients have been known to experience severe distress due to androgenetic alopecia, including anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the efficacy of combination therapy using topical minoxidil and microneedling compared to topical minoxidil alone...

BACKGROUND: Many studies have reported the role of hair follicles (HFs) in the wound healing response, and vice versa, the creation of superficial injuries may stimulate hair growth, which has encouraged new treatments for hair loss. OBJECTIVE: To review the phenomenon of wound-induced hair growth and the usefulness of therapeutic procedures based on skin wounding in androgenetic alopecia (AGA). METHODS: A literature search was conducted to review cases of localized hypertrichosis induced by wounds and the role of microneedling, fractional laser, and scalp threading as monotherapy for AGA...

OBJECTIVES: The dissolvable microneedles loaded with cedrol based on flexible backing were developed to deliver cedrol directly and continuously to the dermis, where the drug concentration in the hair follicle can be increased locally. METHODS: The tip-layer matrix solution was prepared by mixing cedrol and polyvinylpyrrolidone K25 (PVP K25), and the pedestal matrix solution was prepared with aqueous hyaluronic acid. The cedrol-loaded dissolvable microneedles (cedrol-DMNs) were prepared under vacuum conditions...

Alopecia is a treatable benign disease, however, approximately 15-30% of women and 50% of men suffer from alopecia, which greatly affects patient's self-esteem and quality of life. Currently, commercial products for alopecia treatment include topical minoxidil solution, oral finasteride tablets and oral baricitinib tablets. However, the barrier of stratum corneum, systemic adverse effects and poor cure rate limit the application of commercial products. Therefore, researchers investigated the mechanism of alopecia, and developed new drugs that could target lactate dehydrogenase-related pathways, remove excessive reactive oxygen in hair follicles, and reduce the escape of hair follicle stem cells, thus injecting new strength into the treatment of alopecia...

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a transracial and cross-gender disease worldwide with a higher prevalence among young individuals. Traditional oral or subcutaneous injections are often used to treat AGA, however, they may cause severe side-effects and therefore effective treatments for AGA are currently lacking. In this work, to treat AGA, we developed a composite paste system based on minoxidil (MXD)-loaded nanoparticles and valproic acid (VPA) with the assistance of roller-microneedles (roller-MNs). The matrix of composite paste systems is carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), hyaluronic acid (HA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)...