Baldiness

Genetic Indicators for Alopecia Identified

by Bald Man on June 5th, 2006

Lots of interesting alopecia-related medical news while I was away. From HealthCentral.com:

A rare genetic defect that can trigger a range of diseases, from type 1 diabetes to alopecia (hair loss), helps to explain the imbalance of immune-regulator and killer cells in autoimmune diseases, researchers are reporting.

A mutation in the Aire gene causes APS1, a disease that causes two of three problems — an underactive parathyroid, yeast infection of the skin and/or mucous membrane, and adrenal gland insufficiency — by the age 5, and up to 16 autoimmune diseases over a lifetime, the scientists from Medical College of Georgia said.

That same mutation causes a defect in what are called iNKT cells, a type of regulatory cell that helps the immune system fight infections while suppressing errant T cells that mistakenly attack the body, the researchers said.

To be honest, a cure for alopecia probably shouldn’t be real high on the list of priorities. I seem to remember another Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome that rates a 10 on the severity scale compared to alopecia’s modest 1 or 2. Now, we know that AIDS isn’t genetically triggered, but rather acquired from a virus. Nevertheless, the identification of any contributing genetic factors - such as an immune system predisposed to infection or a genetic mutation triggered by infection - would surely be progressive. If we can spare a few folks from hair loss while we’re at it, that’s just a bonus.

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