Our Recording from the Dec 30 webinar “Top 20 Hair Research Studies of 2024” has now been uploaded to the DonovanMedical YouTube channel. Congratulations to all authors of these 20 wonderful studies ..read more

Donovan Hair Academy Announces Picks for the Top 20 Hair Research Studies of 2024 In keeping with the annual year-end tradition, Dr Donovan announces choices for the top 20 hair research studies of the past year. This year’s public webinar will take place Dec 30 at 5 pm PST (8 pm EST). The 20 studies will be discussed at the webinar. Registration is required for the webinar and this can be done using the links below: REGISTER FOR THE TOP 20 HAIR RESEARCH STUDIES of 2024 A recording of the webinar will be made available at a later date on the DonovanMedical youtube channel and broadcast to th ..read more

Lichen planopilaris is more common type of scarring alopecia. Studies to date have conflicted as to whether LPP is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Purpose Authors from Taiwan conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the association between LPP and different cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. The authors systematically searched four electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library) for relevant studies published from their inception to 1 August 2024. Their meta-analysis included 10 case–control studies involving 7516 ..read more

Authors from Minneapolis set out to determine if patients with various forms of lichen planus have an increased, decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. In this study, patients with lichen planus were identified from outpatient dermatology/gynecology clinics by International Classification of Disease-9/10 code. Inclusion criteria included age at diagnosis 18 to 89 years, and 1:1 age-, race/ethnicity-, and sex-matched with patients without a diagnosis of LP Body mass index (BMI), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides (TG), diagnosis of hypertension (HTN), type II diabetes mellitus (DM ..read more

Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) and lichen planopilaris (LPP) are scarring alopecias. Data supporting the use of topical JAK inhibitors in FFA and LPP is weak at present but slowly increasing. We recently reviewed a nice paper by Chen et al. Patients in that study were using topical tofacitinib at high levels (1-3 times per day) and the study was largely one of FFA. Use of tofacitinib led to a 48% decrease in LPPAI score at 6 months. In a new study, authors from Miami set out to evaluate the efficacy of topical JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib 1.5 % cream in the treatment of FFA and LPP. Author ..read more

Frontal fibrosing alopecia is a scarring alopecia which causes hair loss along the frontal hairline, side, occipital region as well as eyebrows, eyelashes and body hair in a large proportion. A variety of treatment options are available including antiandrogens, isotretinoin, steroid injections, topical JAK inhibitors. Authors from 2 centers in Brazil and 1 in Spain set out to retrospectively analyze the effectiveness of low-dose oral minoxidil (LDOM) on the frontotemporal hairline in patients with frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA). RESULTS In total, 122 patients were included in the study. Thi ..read more

There are many population-based case-control studies that have identified that patients with alopecia areata have an independent risk for cardiovascular disease. However, this is not agreed upon in all studies. Authors of a new study set out to determine if patients with AA are at increased risk for heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. The authors used the AllofUS Database. This database provides electronic health record data of for more than 351,000 US adults. In this study, patients in the database with alopecia areata were identified and compared with controls. Matching was done in a ..read more

Post partum hair loss occurs in some but not all women. It often occurs 3-6 months after delivery and last another 3-8 months. Post partum hair loss can be associated with anxiety. Some studies have suggested that upwards of 90% of women experience post partum hair loss. There are few studies that had thoroughly addressed the psychological impact of post partum hair loss PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between postpartum hair loss and psychological symptoms. STUDY DESIGN A questionnaire was given to women 10–18 months after delivery. Baseline characteristics ..read more

Low dose oral minoxidil is commonly used to treat hair loss. oral minoxidil is not without side effects and peripheral edema is one of the well known side effects. Prior studies, including those by Sanabria et al and Vano et al, showed a risk of swelling ranging from 1-9%. Purpose of Current Study In this study, authors set out to understand the specific features and risk factors associated with LDOM-induced edema STUDY DESIGN This was A retrospective analysis of alopecia patients treated with LDOM (0.625-5 mg daily) between 2023 and March 2024) Inclusion criteria included: diagnos ..read more

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is a lymphocytic scarring alopecia that affects predominantly black women. At the present time, there are no evidence-based studies that have critically evaluated the use of doxycycline in the management of central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA). Purpose of the Study In this study, authors set out to evaluate the effectiveness of oral doxycycline in the management of CCCA. Study design The study involved a review of medical records of patients in their database with a histopathological and clinical diagnosis of CCCA. There were 143 pat ..read more