"The first part, the immediate loss of hair, was simple. "Stress has an immediate impact through the activation of the sympathetic nervous system," explained Hsu, who is also a principal faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. She said that it begins with our natural "fight or flight" response, which releases norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that - among other effects - kills highly proliferating cells in the hair follicle when the level is too high. Hair loss in such circumstances is usually temporary."
"It's well known that stress can trigger hair loss. A new paper explores how this happens and how our response to stress can have long-term consequences for our scalps, research that may eventually yield insights into autoimmune diseases. In research published in Cell, Ya-chieh Hsu, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology, and her lab found that the hair loss resulted from a two-part reaction."
A two-part reaction causes stress-induced hair loss. Acute stress activates the sympathetic nervous system and releases norepinephrine, which at high levels kills highly proliferating cells in the hair follicle. Stem cells are often spared in this immediate response, allowing temporal regeneration of hair. Imaging revealed that many follicles die by necrosis, appearing as if hydrochloric acid had been poured on them. Necrotic tissue triggers innate immune recognition and a cascade of immune reactions. The secondary immune response can attack follicle stem cells and cause longer-term or permanent hair loss. These mechanisms may provide insight into autoimmune processes affecting the skin and hair.
Read at Harvard Gazette
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]