The study showed that understanding this process could help in the study of autoimmune diseases.
Stress is a trigger that accelerates the onset of certain diseases and can lead to hair loss. The first stage of this phenomenon begins with the release of norepinephrine, which damages hair follicle cells; however, these follicles usually regenerate over time because the stem cells are not damaged.
The second stage occurs when the hair follicles damaged by norepinephrine die, and the body begins to recognize them as foreign cells, triggering an autoimmune response. This response activates autoreactive T cells, which then begin to repeatedly attack the hair follicles, leading to further hair loss.
Researchers believe that discovering this mechanism will help in studying other autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes, where the onset of these diseases requires a trigger, which is not necessarily genetic.
The research team hopes that collaboration between neuroscientists, immunologists, and biologists will contribute to understanding the mechanisms that trigger autoimmune diseases, and to studying the impact of stress and lifestyle on human health.
The study was published in the journal Cell
