How a Johns Hopkins Doctor Uses Antidiabetic Drugs to Treat Alopecia

Alopecia, an umbrella term used to describe hair loss, disproportionately affects black women. Nearly half of all black women will experience some type of hair loss of their lifetime. It can occur in various forms, including probably the greatest often called alopecia areata. Famous women affected by alopecia include Jada Pinkett Smith and “Martha’s Vineyard” star Jordan Emanuel.

Treatment may vary depending on the cause and will include topical agents, ointments, and even stem cell treatments. These treatments could be expensive and largely paid out of pocket. A black dermatologist at Johns Hopkins can have just stumbled upon the answer: antidiabetic drugs.

Dr. Crystal Aguhdermatologist and director of the Ethnic Skin Program at Johns Hopkins Medicine, made a major breakthrough in her research on the consequences of the low-dose oral diabetes drug metformin in reversing hair loss.

This medicine, a non-insulin medicine used to control blood sugar levels, also accommodates ingredients which will prevent or slow the formation of scarring which will occur within the organs of a diabetic. Previous research by Aguh found that insulin resistance was also a think about scalp scarring.

“We had to give women a better chance to regrow their hair,” she said Baltimore banner in a recent interview.

By applying a small dose of the cream drug directly to the scalp, she tested a group of 12 black women, all of whom had central cicatricial alopecia (CCCA), one of the common forms. She found that nine patients had improvement in scalp scarring and 6 patients had “clinical evidence” of hair regrowth after the primary six months.

“Oral metformin at low doses can reverse the fibrotic transcriptional signature in CCCA and promote hair regrowth, suggesting its potential as a targeted therapy for the treatment of cicatricial alopecia,” she wrote in her findings published within the journal: JAMA Dermatology.

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The next stage of Aguha’s research is formal clinical trials, during which the drug will likely be tested to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If this drug is approved by the FDA, it could change the lives of many individuals, especially black women.

According to Aguh, as many as 15% of African American women suffer from CCCA alone. Speaking to the web site concerning the impact that hair loss can have on a person, she said: “Devastating is an understatement.”

She added that beyond beauty and self-esteem, about 10% of ladies will delay or refuse critical treatment that may lead to hair loss, akin to chemotherapy.

It’s not entirely clear why black women are so prone to hair loss and baldness. Signing in article published by HopkinsAguh said: “Unfortunately, some sorts of hair loss are genetic and there may be little that could be done to prevent them. Genetic sorts of alopecia include alopecia areata and feminine pattern baldness.

She added that other types of hair loss could be attributable to stress, poor weight loss plan and styling.

“Black women in particular are susceptible to a type of hair loss called traction alopecia, which is caused by heat, chemicals and tight styles that pull on the hair root, including some braids, dreadlocks, extensions and weaves,” she wrote.

Aguha’s goal shouldn’t be just to develop a latest drug for hair loss; intends to find a cure.

“I am a scientist, but first and foremost I am a human being,” she told the Baltimore Banner. “I want people to be better off. If I left the hair clinic because no one was losing their hair, that would be great.”