Retin A shortens the anagen phase

Topicals for hair loss
1

All you nerds out there :slight_smile: can you interpret this? This sounds like retin A will shorten the anagen phase, if that is the case why are doctors adding Retin A to minox?

RETINOIC ACID INDUCES CATAGEN BY TGF-ß2 UPREGULATION IN HUMAN HAIR FOLLICLES IN VITRO

1Tanja Spexard, 1Ralf Paus, 2Ursula Halsner, 2Sibylle Eberle, 1Karoline Krause, 1Ingrid Moll und 1Kerstin Foitzik. 1Department of Dermatology, Univ. Hosp. Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, 2ArteMedicMeditra GmbH, Gräfelfing, Germany

Retinoic acid can have adverse effects on human hair follicles. While systemic intake of retinoic acid is able to induce telogen effluvium, topical treatment of human scalp hair follicles with tretinoin may also result in a prolonged anagen phase. Therefore, we have investigated the influence of all-trans retinoic acid (RA) on the growth of human hair follicles in culture.

Human anagen hair follicles were dissected, and organ-cultured in supplemented Williams E Medium for 2, 4 or 6 days with retinoic acid (10-8, 10-11 M), and length of the hair shaft was measured every second day, before follicles were embedded for cryosectioning. Hair shaft length decreased already significantly after two days in the RA-treated group, compared to control. Staging of the hair follicles showed that approx. 80% of the RA-treated hair follicles at day 6 had entered catagen, compared to 30% of catagen follicles in the control group. This corresponded to a relative upregulation of TUNEL+ cells and a downregulation of Ki67+ cells in the RA-treated follicles. Since TGF-ß2 has recently been implicated as an inducer of catagen in human hair follicles, we next studied whether RA treatment had any affect on follicular TGF-ß2 expression. TGF-ß2 immunoreactivity was detected in the outer root sheath (ORS) of normal, untreated anagen VI scalp hair follicles. The lower portion of the hair bulb and the dermal papilla were negative for TGF-ß2. In catagen follicles, TGF-ß2 was also expressed in the regressing epithelial strand. After 4 days of RA treatment, TGF-ß2 was significantly upregulated in anagen hair follicles in the dermal papilla and the dermal sheath. In addition, the intensity of TGF-ß1 and TGF-ß receptor type II (TGFRII) immunoreactivity was increased in the ORS of RA-treated hair follicles, compared to control.

We demonstrated that RA is indeed capable of inducing catagen in human hair follicles in vitro and that RA upregulates TGF-ß2 in the dermal papilla and TGFRII expression in the ORS. This shows that RA can induce catagen, possibly via induction of TGF-ß2 and upregulation of its receptor.

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Wonderful. Three weeks ago, we had a study showing that retin-A doubled the effect of 5% minoxidil…
All these contradictory studies are tiring at last. Likewise retin-A’s effect is controversial on Dr Pickart’s site. It seems to induce a more rapid recovery in case of scarring but official studies have shown there as well that TGf beta is upregulated by retin-A, which may seem contradictory. Having used retin-A for 3 years myself,my results are rather positive anyway. Wouldn’t drop it.

3

Interesting, I wonder what Dr. Klein has to say about this since his REMOX contains Retin A. This may have something to do with vitamin A, it works to a certain extent high dose vitamin A can cause hair loss too. Two edge sword.

4

EXACTLY. I have been saying this for years. I used REMOX about three years ago and, to me, it was hair POISON. Maybe I am just ultra-sensitive to Retin-A or Vitamin A derivatives. I used it religiously for over a month until my scalp turned beet red and oozed. He recommended using it like three or four times a day (I cannot recall the exact number). I used it twice a day. Then came the massive hair loss…

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» EXACTLY. I have been saying this for years. I used REMOX about three years
» ago and, to me, it was hair POISON. Maybe I am just ultra-sensitive to
» Retin-A or Vitamin A derivatives. I used it religiously for over a month
» until my scalp turned beet red and oozed. He recommended using it like
» three or four times a day (I cannot recall the exact number). I used it
» twice a day. Then came the massive hair loss…

thanx for this admission…

even though some things are anti-androgenic (like peppermint, licorice) they still might be bad for the hair cycle in some other way. Perhaps they up an anti-gen or decrease a mitogen or ‘hurt’ part of the follicle in such a way as to attract the immune systems attention. Retin-A is supposedly associated decrease in androgen receptor expression by 30% or so, but what else might it do bad might far outweigh what it does good.

Another point I wonder about is that even if something is good for hair over a six month period, after two or three years its negative effects might become prevalent. On its own, minox is pretty damn good for two years before its effect begins to lessen year after year…you dont get back to baseline until past year ten, but alot of men probably would think it a cure at month 22 or so—when we all know its not now.

My opinion on baldness has changed somewhat since reading that the alpha five reductase genes are no differnt in bald vs. hirsute men. The difference genetically is in the androgen receptor gene…which apparently gets too much androgen uptaken at the follicle site before everything starts going wrong up there. The fact that occipital scalp hair has been shown to be able to respond negatively to very high androgen stimulis in experiments makes me believe that its just the overactive expression of the androgen receptor and what happens downstream of that is pretty much natural in everyone. If I could exchange androgen receptor expression with Brad Pitt, I’d no longer need finasteride, and he’d start losing his hair temples first----right along the norwood pattern I’d bet.

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If I could exchange
» androgen receptor expression with Brad Pitt, I’d no longer need
» finasteride, and he’d start losing his hair temples first----right along
» the norwood pattern I’d bet.

Right. But don’t exchange any other kind of expression with him though.