Uric acid and Stroke

This is Dr Proctor’s paper on the relationship between uric acid and stroke. many of the same processes that happen in hair loss also figure in stroke causation. Similarly, many agetns that are effective in hair loss treatment are also effective in experimental models of stroke.

“….A more-directed approach to neuroprotection blocks the pro-oxidant effects of uric acid2–6 and/or xanthine oxidase,2 while augmenting urates’ tissue-protective properties, eg, with superoxide dismutases (SODs).6 Similar examples include agents acting mitochondrially and/or across the blood-brain barrier. This first drew us to the spin-traps phenylbutylnitrone (PBN–the parent drug for the putative neuroprotectant NXY-059) and 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane (MNP), as well as the SOD-mimetic spin-labels TEMPO and TEMPOL. As we note1 SOD itself is neuroprotectant, as are TEMPO/ TEMPOL. These agents have proven very nontoxic in human and animal trials. As “orgotein” or “ontosein,” SOD itself gained regulatory approval in Europe for radiation cystitis and Peyronies disease. Likewise, TEMPOL is currently in clinical trials for radiation alopecia and parotiditis and for hypertension. A TEMPOL ester is also in trials for age-related macular degeneration…”

TEMPOL is an effective hair loss treatment agent.

Recent advances in hair cell regeneration research
Maria Sol Collado, et al

This review discusses recent progress in research that seeks to understand the regeneration of hair cells and it highlights findings that may hold importance for the eventual development of regenerative therapies for hearing and balance impairments.

Recent findings
Signaling via the Notch receptor and the bHLH transcription factors has important roles in the development and regeneration of hair cells. The cytoskeletal properties and cell-matrix interactions of supporting cells in mice of different ages may hold part of the explanation for the age-related differences in their proliferative responses to damage and the differences between mammals and non-mammals in hair cell regeneration. Progress also has been made in deriving stem cells from inner ear tissues and other sources and in the evaluation of their potential uses as source of new hair cells and tools for biomedical research.Summary
Much has been accomplish since the discovery of postembryonic hair cell production and hair cell regeneration in non-mammals decades ago. No therapies for hair cell regeneration are under clinical trials, but research is yielding potentially important discoveries that are likely to lead to the development of therapeutic methods for inducing hair cell regeneration in the mammalian inner ear.Keywords: ear, repair, regeneration, proliferation, hair cell Other Sections¥

Singh G. Androgenic alopecia. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2002;68:40

snip….The treatment for pattern hair loss in women is started only after ruling out other causes of hair loss like child birth, iron deficiency anaemia, crash diet, and hypothyroidism. Minoxidil 2% solution is the first treatment of choice. If this fails, spironolactone 1 00mg is given daily for 3 out of every 4 weeks along with oral contraceptives…

Hair loss treatment at the Proctor Clinic

Topical minoxidil treatment for hair regrowth

Clin Pharm. 1987 May;6(5):386-92.

Topical minoxidil therapy for hair regrowth.
Rumsfield JA,

The pathogenesis of hair loss, the postulated mechanisms of minoxidil action on hair growth, ns. ..snip… For alopecia areata, which involves hair loss on the body or scalp, usually patchy and of sudden onset, no reliable treatment has been found, although minoxidil may be efficacious in some patients. Minoxidil has generated new interest in hair-loss research. The etiology of hair loss must be better understood before more effective treatment regimens can be designed.

edited for hair loss and hair regrowth blog use

Br Med J. 1973 Jun 2;2(5865):499-500.

Hair loss and contraceptives.

PIP: In a review of the relationship of hair loss to oral contraceptive use, several studies are examined. The effect of pregnancy on hair loss has been substantiated. After the 3rd month of pregnancy the proportion of follicles in active growth rises. Increased hair shedding follows childbirth due to the delayed physiological passage of some follicles into the resting phase, blood loss, and sometimes anticoagulants. In contraceptive studies it can be shown that in 1/2 of the patients there was a temporary increase in the proportion of resting during early treatment but that pretreatment status was regained in 6 months. In 11 patients in this study who showed high pretreatment levels of resting follicles, the proportion of actively growing follicles actually increased with OCs. The incidence of diffuse hair loss in women between 1952 and 1971 has remained unchanged although OC use has increased. This suggests the effect of OCs on alopecia is insignificant. There may be a causal relationship between stopping estrogen and hair loss. However, it may be possible that genetically suseptible women might be affected by OCs. In patients where hair loss is accompanied by seborrhea or where there is hirsuitism it is suggested that the pill be discontinued.

Lancet. 1979;1(8122):927.

Dinitrochlorbenzene in treatmement of alopecia areata hair loss.
Warin AP