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α 1 ‐AR agonist induced piloerection protects against the development of traction alopecia
Author(s) -
Goren Andy,
Shapiro Jerry,
Sinclair Rodney,
Kovacevic Maja,
McCoy John
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
dermatologic therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1529-8019
pISSN - 1396-0296
DOI - 10.1111/dth.12324
Subject(s) - hair follicle , phenylephrine , medicine , hair shaft , hair loss , scalp , agonist , dermatology , placebo , hair removal , anatomy , receptor , pathology , blood pressure , alternative medicine
Traction alopecia is hair loss that occurs after persistent pulling (e.g., during cosmetic procedures) on the roots of hair over time. Unlike plucking, which is painful, persistent pulling may go unnoticed until a patient presents with either bald spots or diffuse telogen shedding. Each hair follicle in the scalp contains an arrector pili muscle that, when contracted, erects the hair. The smooth muscle in the arrector pili expresses α 1 adrenergic receptors (α 1 ‐AR). As such, we hypothesized that contraction of the arrector pili muscle via an α 1 ‐AR agonist would increase the threshold of force required to pluck hair during cosmetic procedures. Female subjects, ages 18–40, were recruited to study the effect of topically applied phenylephrine, a selective α 1 ‐AR agonist, on epilation force and hair shedding during cosmetic procedures. In our blinded study, 80% of subjects demonstrated reduced shedding on days using phenylephrine compared to days using a placebo solution. The average reduction in hair loss was approximately 42%. In addition, the force threshold required for epilation increased by approximately 172% following topical phenylephrine application. To our knowledge this is the first study demonstrating the utility of α 1 ‐AR agonists in the treatment of traction alopecia and hair shedding during cosmetic procedures.