Korean J Clin Pharm.  2016 Sep;26(3):187-194. 10.0000/kjcp.2016.26.3.187.

Effects of Early Cell Damage from Repetitive Intermittent Fever Exposure in Alopecia Progression and Evaluation of New Candidate Drugs: Ibuprofen, Menthol, and Cetirizine

• Lim SC
• Moon HS

• KMID: 2358233
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/kjcp.2016.26.3.187

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Alopecia areata (AA) is a very disturbing and expensive disorder in which the exact etiology is not known and it is yet to be treated completely well. Most alopecia patients exhibit some inflammation in the hair follicles regardless of the causes. The clinical symptoms of alopecia present very diversely while the prime symptom is local intermittent fever which are related to inflamed cells.
METHODS
This study aimed to evaluate how repetitive intermittent fever can damage the normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells and investigated the cytotoxic and proliferative effects after application of new candidate drugs (ibuprofen, menthol, cetirizine) for alopecia in comparison to minoxidil.
RESULTS
This study demonstrated that ibuprofen, menthol, or/and cetirizine can prevent or slow down the damage of NHDF cells from intermittent fever in early alopecia. Aggressive preventative intervention with those drugs before complete destruction of hair follicle by excessive repetitive fever, is a very important step for alopecia therapy and these drugs are recommended as candidate drugs for alopecia in the future.
CONCLUSION
Aggressive preventative intervention with drugs before complete destruction of hair follicles (NHDF cells) by excessive repetitive fever is a very important step for alopecia therapy or progression.

Keyword

Alopecia; cetirizine; intermittent fever; ibuprofen; menthol

MeSH Terms

Alopecia Areata
Alopecia*
Cetirizine*
Fever*
Fibroblasts
Hair Follicle
Humans
Ibuprofen*
Inflammation
Menthol*
Minoxidil
Cetirizine
Ibuprofen
Menthol
Minoxidil