Found a third drug for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (alopecia)

The scalp on the head performs an important function of thermoregulation of the brain, and its loss is undesirable from a biological and aesthetic point of view. Unfortunately, for some reason, with age, men and women tend to lose some of their hair. In this case, you have to wear hats in the heat and cold.

Chemists and biologists have been working for many years to find effective means for the regeneration of hair. It is possible that more money is being spent on these goals in the world than on a space program. Currently, two drugs have been created for the treatment of baldness (androgenetic alopecia) - these are minoxidil and finasteride. Unfortunately, both drugs have side effects, and they do not guarantee a positive result.

Therefore, people suffering from hair loss decide to transplant hair from another's body (plastic surgery, see photo above). This is the only effective remedy without side effects. Some people have to go for an operation due to special requirements for their appearance and / or professional need: these are actors, public figures, top managers of companies with a mass audience, etc.

Researchers at the Center for Dermatological Research at the University of Manchester, Professor Ralph Paus, have developed a new drug that can be more effective than existing products and ease the suffering of people due to hair loss.

The found drug was originally created as a treatment for osteoporosis. But it was found that it has a significant stimulating effect on the hair follicles in humans. Already conducted experiments on human biomaterial from patients undergoing surgical hair transplantation.

The history of the search for a new drug is similar to a scientific detective story.

Step 1: Study of Cyclosporin A

The research project was led by a group of Dr. Nathan Hawkshaw. In order to find new drugs for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia, scientists first decided to find out the molecular mechanisms of the old immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A (CsA). This drug has been widely used since the 1980s to suppress graft rejection and to treat autoimmune diseases. The fact is that it has serious side effects, the most innocent of them, but the most interesting is that it causes cosmetically undesirable hair growth on the human body .

It is this side effect that interested scientists. Why does the drug work?

The team conducted a complete analysis of the expression of the isolated hair follicles of the human scalp, treated with CsA. It was found that cyclosporine reduces the expression of SFRP1 protein, which inhibits the development and growth of many tissues, including hair follicles.

This in itself has become a worthy scientific discovery, because previously physicians did not know about such a specific action of cyclosporine, although the immunosuppressant has long been widely used.

Step 2: SFRP1 protein

The inhibitory (suppressive) mechanism of action of the protein SFRP1 is completely unrelated to the immunosuppressive activity of cyclosporin. In other words, this protein is not associated with side effects that are observed when using CsA. Thus, protein has become a promising candidate for exploring new hair loss treatment strategies.

It remains for the small: to find another drug that also suppresses the expression of SFRP1, as does cyclosporine. After some detective work, Dr. Hockshaw and his colleagues found such a connection!

Step 3: Connect WAY-316606

A lucky find was the existing drug, originally intended for the treatment of osteoporosis - it is a simple chemical WAY-316606. It turned out that to block SFRP1 specifically, it uses the exact same mechanism as CsA.


Suppressing SFRP1 activity with WAY-316606 stimulates hair growth in humans and increases expression of the K85 protein. Illustration: scientific work of the Center for Dermatological Research at the University of Manchester

When treating hair follicles with WAY-316606, hair growth was stimulated in the same way as with CsA treatment. According to the researchers , the external use of WAY-316606 based ointment on the skin of a balding head can stimulate hair growth not worse, or even better than CsA, and without side effects.

Interestingly, WAY-316606 hydrochloride - a medicine with the formula C ₁₈ H ₂₀ ClF ₃ N ₂ O ₄ S ₂ - is commercially available . Although the formula is simple, but the drug against osteoporosis is patented and sold at a high price ($ 264.45 per 10 mg).

The scientific article was published in open access on May 8, 2018 in the journal PLOS Biology (doi: 10.1371 / journal.pbio.2003705).