Alopecia Areata, or AA for short, is an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss in a patchy form on the scalp and other parts of the body where hair may normally grow. For some time now, it has been questioned if AA might be induced by any form of stress but the exact mechanism has not been explored. Fortunately, we have been informed that a study has been conducted on the relationship of the stress response to the pathogenesis of alopecia areata. This was done by subjecting normal and skin graft-induced AA-affected mice to light ether anesthesia or stress through restraint.

The skin of the subjects was measured by quantitative RT-PCR for corticotropin-releasing hormone, arginine vasopressin, pro-opiomelanocortin, glucocorticoid receptor, mineralocorticoid receptor, corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor types 1 and 2, interleukin-12, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and estrogen receptors type-1 and type-2. Plasma corticosterone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and estradiol levels were determined in this study as an indicator or stress level, whereas gene expression was determined within the brain and lymphoid organs. Mice with AA had a notable increase in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal tone and activity centrally and peripherally in the lymph nodes as well as the skin.

Compared to that of normal mice, altered interaction was seen between the adrenal and gonadal axis proving there was the presence of high stress levels. Activity of the hypothalamus pituitary axis in the test subjects with AA had also seemed to be altered by said stress. The mice with AA had significantly blunted corticosteroid and ACTH responses to acute ether stress (physiological stressor) and a deficit in habituation to repeated restraint stress (psychological stressor), further suggesting that altered brain response caused by stress may be to blame for the presence or occurrence of AA.

To help correct or control Alopecia Areata and other forms of AA, observation of patients as well as steroid injections has proven useful. This is even more true in those who suffer from extensive forms of AA (i.e. Alopecia Totalis). Patients with active AA should not undergo hair restoration surgery since the chances of losing the transplanted hair is likely to occur as has happened to the native hair lost through the same mechanism.