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Alopecia areata - Patent and Technology Mapping

Contents

Overview

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Alopecia areata (?baldness in spots') is a form of hair loss, usually from the scalp, although it can affect other areas of the body. The hair loss mostly remains limited to the scalp but in certain cases it can extend to eyebrows, eyelashes, facial hair (beard, moustache), nasal hair and give rise to bald spots anywhere in the body.

Alopecia can affect both men and women and it is not uncommon to see children affected with this disorder. Approximately 2% of the general population worldwide suffers from alopecia areata.

Understanding alopecia areata: The hair is made up of a protein called keratin which is also the main constituent of nails. A specialised structure inside the skin called ?Papilla' produces the hair as shown in the figure. The papilla is surrounded by a sac-like structure called the ?Hair follicle' which also surrounds rest of the hair root within the skin. The part of the hair outside the skin surface is called as shaft. Source

Alopecia areata is considered to be an auto-immune condition in which the immune system of the body (which protects the body from bacteria and viruses) mistakenly attacks the hair follicles and destroys them. This leads to hair loss in the affected area.

The commonest presentation of alopecia areata is appearance of bald patches on the scalp. In most cases, hair falls out in small, round patches about the size of a small coin. The patient may have single or multiple such patches. In some cases these patches may remain static, whereas in some cases the patches may spread to involve larger areas of the scalp. In some cases, hair loss is more extensive. Although it is not very common, the disease can progress to cause total loss of hair on the head (alopecia areata totalis) or complete loss of hair on the head, face, and rest of the body (alopecia areata universalis).


Causes

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Alopecia areata is considered to be an auto-immune condition in which the immune system of the body (which protects the body from bacteria, viruses, allergens, etc.) mistakenly attacks the hair follicles and destroys them. This leads to hair loss in the affected area. This abnormal behavior of the immune system is understood to be guided, influenced and triggered by multiple factors.

The exact cause, why hair follicles undergo this kind of destruction, is not known but a genetic component to this is suspected. Family history of alopecia areata or any of the other auto-immune diseases (such as hypothyroid, diabetes, cancer, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.) is often seen in many cases, suggesting a role of genetic element. In addition to the genetic predisposition, certain triggering factors may bring on the onset of this condition. Prolonged underlying stress often predisposes some patients to develop auto-immune process leading to alopecia areata. However, stress may not be the cause in every case.

Some other common causative factors that can contribute to the development of alopecia areata have been mentioned below:

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One or more of the following factors may be found responsible in cases of alopecia areata:



Types of Alopecia areata

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Molecular Mechanism

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease in which cells of the anagen hair bulb are attacked by T lymphocytes. In a process resembling chemotherapy-induced hair loss, lymphocyte infiltration of the growing hair bulb forces the anagen follicles into dystrophic catagen, causing the hair shaft to break off. Possible targets of autoimmune attack in alopecia areata include matrix keratinocytes, dermal papilla cells, and melanocytes. Linkage analyses indicate that this disease has a genetic component, though the range of associated genes, including the major histocompatibility complex, cytokine and immunoglobulin genes.


Market Information

Epidemiological aspects

Clinical and Drug trials

Clinical Trials

The format for each of the following is:

ClinicalTrials.gov has listed the following trials for Alopecia Areata:


Drug Trials

The format for each of the following is:

ClinicalTrials.gov has listed the following drugs in trials for Alopecia Areata:


Treatment Approaches

The following are some of the common treatments used for alopecia areata in conventional medical practice. These treatments may promote hair growth but none of them prevent new patches from appearing or actually cure the underlying disease; thus they are nothing more than temporary measures for treating alopecia areata:

Intellectual Property

Patent Search Strategy

Search scope: US Granted US Applications EP-A EP-B WO JP (bibliographic data only) DE-C,B DE-A DE-T DE-U GB-A FR-A
Limitation: Claims, Title or Abstract
Years: 1836-2007
Text: (((alopecia ADJ areata) OR (baldness ADJ spots))) AND (Minimiz* OR Promote OR inhibit* OR reduce* OR stimulat* OR treatment OR prevention) AND (hair))
Hits: 100 Unique patent families
Date of Search: 5th April 2007


Analysis sheet


Taxonomy

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Key Competitors

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