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Alopecia
Universalis
Alopecia universalis is a medical disorder in which the afflicted are unable to
grow hair on the entire body. It is the most severe form of alopecia areata.
Alopecia universalis can occur at any age, and is currently believed to be an
autoimmune disorder.
Hair loss can disturb the male psyche, but it's even more upsetting for women.
No wonder Angela M. Christiano put her education to use when she was diagnosed
with alopecia areta, a hair loss condition affecting more than 2 million people
nationwide.
While the effort may not have resolved why she loses hair, Christiano, a
geneticist at Columbia University, has now identified the first gene associated
with human hair loss. She and her U.S. colleagues teamed up with scientists in
Pakistan to study a family whose members frequently have alopecia universalis, a
rare condition that results in no scalp or body hair growth after birth.
While closing in on the location of the responsible gene, the investigators
began to wonder whether it might be the human version of a mouse gene that, when
mutated, results in hairless rodents. Using the DNA sequence of the mouse gene,
they found the human version in the chromosomal region they had targeted. In the
Jan. 30 Science, the researchers reveal that the gene harbors a mutation in
family members afflicted with alopecia universalis.
The gene encodes a transcription factor, a protein that regulates the activity
of other genes. Christiano and her colleagues hope that their discovery will
lead to the identification of more genes involved in human hair growth.
Ultimately, such research may suggest new treatments to stem or reverse hair
loss.
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