Posted by Jakeman on May 21, 2005, at 13:44:18
Has anyone used topical melatonin to stimulate hair growth?
Below are three articles which suggest a connection.
best regards, -J
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Br J Dermatol. 2004 Feb;150(2):341-5. Related Articles, Links
Melatonin increases anagen hair rate in women with androgenetic alopecia or diffuse alopecia: results of a pilot randomized controlled
trial.Fischer TW, Burmeister G, Schmidt HW, Elsner P.
Department of Dermatology and Allergology,
Friedrich-Schiller-University, Erfurter Strasse 35, D-07740 Jena,
Germany. tobias.fisc...@derma.uni-jena.de
BACKGROUND: In addition to the well-known hormonal influences of estosterone and dihydrotestosterone on the hair cycle, melatonin has been reported to have a beneficial effect on hair growth in animals. The
effect of melatonin on hair growth in humans has not been investigated so far.OBJECTIVES: To examine whether topically applied melatonin influences anagen and telogen hair rate in women with androgenetic or
diffuse hair loss. METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was conducted in 40 women suffering from
diffuse alopecia or androgenetic alopecia. A 0.1% melatonin or a placebo solution was applied on the scalp once daily for 6 months and
trichograms were performed to assess anagen and telogen hair rate. To monitor effects of treatment on physiological melatonin levels, blood samples were taken over the whole study period.RESULTS: Melatonin led
to a significantly increased anagen hair rate in occipital hair in women
with androgenetic hair loss compared with placebo (n=12; P=0.012). For
frontal hair, melatonin gave a significant increase in the group with
diffuse alopecia (n=28; P=0.046). The occipital hair samples of patients
with diffuse alopecia and the frontal hair counts of those with
androgenetic alopecia also showed an increase of anagen hair, but
differences were not significant. Plasma melatonin levels increased
under treatment with melatonin, but did not exceed the physiological
night peak. CONCLUSIONS: To the authors' knowledge, this pilot study is
the first to show that topically applied melatonin might influence hair
growth in humans in vivo. The mode of action is not known, but the
effect might result from an induction of anagen phase.---------------------------
The cutaneous serotoninergic/melatoninergic system: securing a place
under the sun.Slominski A, Wortsman J, Tobin DJ.
Department of Pathology, University of Tennessee, Memphis,
Tennessee, USA.It was recently discovered that mammalian skin can produce serotonin and transform it into melatonin. Pathways for the biosynthesis and
biodegradation of serotonin and melatonin have been characterized in human and rodent skin and in their major cellular populations. Moreover,
receptors for serotonin and melatonin receptors are expressed in keratinocytes, melanocytes, and fibroblasts and these mediate phenotypic
actions on cellular proliferation and differentiation. Melatonin exerts
receptor-independent effects, including activation of pathways protective of oxidative stress and the modification of cellular
metabolism. While serotonin is known to have several roles in skin-e.g.,
pro-edema, vasodilatory, proinflammatory, and pruritogenic-melatonin has
been experimentally implicated in hair growth cycling, pigmentation
physiology, and melanoma control. Thus, the widespread expression of a
cutaneous seorotoninergic/melatoninergic system(s) indicates
considerable selectivity of action to facilitate intra-, auto-, or
paracrine mechanisms that define and influence skin function in a highly
compartmentalized manner. Notably, the cutaneous melatoninergic system
is organized to respond to continuous stimulation in contrast to the
pineal gland, which (being insulated from the external environment)
responds to discontinuous activation by the circadian clock. Overall,
the cutaneous serotoninergic/melatoninergic system could counteract or
buffer external (environmental) or internal stresses to preserve the
biological integrity of the organ and to maintain its homeostasis.-Slominski, A. J., Wortsman, J., Tobin, D. J. The cutaneous
serotoninergic/melatoninergic system: securing a place under the sun.PMID: 15677341 [PubMed - in process]
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Expression and functional relevance of melatonin receptors in hair
follicle biology.Kobayashi H, Paus R.
Department of Dermatology, University of Hamburg, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
The prototypic pineal hormone, melatonin reputedly exerts many
functional effects on mammalian skin and/or its isolated cell
populations in culture (e.g., melanogenesis inhibition, melanocyte
growth inhibition, regulation of seasonal changes in the pelage), and is
recognized as a potent free radical scavenger. In mammals, two types of
high-affinity membrane melatonin receptors, MT1 and MT2 have been
identified, which inhibit adenylate cyclase activity to decrease the
intracellular level of cAMP. Low-affinity membrane receptor MT3/QR2 have
also been identified, though the mechanism has not been cleared yet.
Melatonin is also a natural ligand of nuclear transcription factor
ROR(alpha and beta), which is suggested to regulate cell cycle
negatively via target gene such as p21(WAF/CIP1). Due to its lipophilic
structure, melatonin also enters through both the plasma and nuclear
membrane, and acts as a potent free radical scavenger to protect
macromolecules, in particular DNA. Melatonin demonstrates differential -
and often still confusing seemingly contradictory- effects on cell
activity in many different systems, which may be explained by this
multitude of signaling pathways that are modulated by melatonin
bioactivity. Recently, cultured epidermal and follicular melanocytes,
keratinocytes, and fibroblasts, have also been found to display the
enzymatic activity of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase and
hydroxyindole -O- methyltransferase for melatonin synthesis. However,
little is known about the cutaneous expression and regulation of
melatonin and its receptors in situ, and the functional role of
melatonin in normal skin and hair follicle biology is still obscure. In
order to study whether murine hair follicles in situ are indeed direct
peripheral melatonin targets, the follicular expression of MT1, MT2
and/or RORalpha are investigated. Immunohistochemistry revealed that
C57BL/6 mouse hair follicle keratinocytes in situ show prominent
MT1-like immunoreactivity (IR), which changed substantially in a hair
cycle-dependent manner. RORalpha-like IR was also detected in murine
hair follicles, and also displayed hair cycle dependence. RT-PCR of MT1
and MT2, and real time PCR for MT1, MT2 and RORalpha on C57BL/6 mice
skin cDNA revealed that all three genes are transcribed in normal mouse
skin, and demonstrated that their expression/transcription is hair
cycle-dependent. In conclusion, normal murine hair follicles are indeed
a prominent, direct target for melatonin bioregulation, through MT1, MT2
and RORalpha melatonin receptors and that at least some of these
regulators are functionally active in situ. The observed hair cycle
dependence of melatonin receptor expression suggests a role of melatonin
in hair cycle control.
PMID: 15679607
poster:Jakeman
thread:500802
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050510/msgs/500802.html