Hair research scientist
United Kingdom
Joined April 2020
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Here's the latest article from myself and colleagues. Open access so you can download it for free:
Lai, H. J., Ye, Z. M., Chen, S. Q., McElwee, K. J., & Guo, H. W. (2025). Immune therapies for alopecia areata: evidence and new perspectives. Expert Review of Clinical Immunology, 21(10), 1421–1446. doi.org/10.1080/1744666X.202…
Plain Language Summary
Alopecia areata (AA) causes sudden, patchy hair loss because the body’s own immune cells mistakenly attack hair follicles. Hair follicle proteins are normally hidden from the immune system behind a physical and biochemical barrier. Genes, stress and other triggers, appear to disturb this ‘immune-privileged’ zone, letting immune cells inside hair follicles. Finding proteins they have never seen before activates immune cells, causing inflammation that blocks hair growth.
Doctors still rely on treatments such as steroid creams or scalp skin injections to regrow hair in AA patches, but not everyone responds and there are side effect risks. Contact-sensitizing chemicals, such as DPCP or SADBE, create a mild allergic rash. This skin irritation can promote hair growth in some patients with moderate AA. Light therapy and older drugs like methotrexate or cyclosporine are alternatives in some clinics, but the benefits are unpredictable and side-effects restrict long-term use.
New science is reshaping care. JAK inhibitor drugs block key switches inside immune cells and enable hair regrowth, though relapse after stopping treatment and infection risk remain issues. Drugs that block specific immune signals or checkpoints are also in trials. AA is a spectrum that varies by age, hair loss extent, allergy history, and immune profile. Methods are needed that calculate the best treatment option to use for each patient, based on clinical data and blood tests, to avoid trial-and-error treatment and cut side-effect risks. In the future, treatments that quickly calm inflammation and then restore the follicle’s natural protection may provide a lasting cure.
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Renu Dhariyal (India) has the longest hair in the world! 🩷
She has claimed the record for longest hair on a living person (female).
Her stunning raven tresses measure an unbelievable 271.50 cm (8 ft 10 in) long.
Kevin McElwee retweeted
A commentary by Yuval Ramot, "Is female-pattern hair loss an autoimmune-like disorder? Unveiling the 'silent' inflammation" jidonline.org/article/S0022-… #HairLossAwareness #Alopecia #AlopeciaAreata #HairLoss
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Can TYK2 inhibition treat alopecia areata?
In this phase II randomized trial, deucravacitinib did not significantly improve Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) scores vs placebo. No new safety signals were identified.
👇 Read more: doi.org/10.1093/bjd/ljag109
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Very interesting article. We, the hair loss, hair transplant and plastic surgeons, should be aware about LPP before & after HTS and facial surgeries.
Lichen Planopilaris After Hair Transplantation and Facial Surgical Procedures: A Systematic Review ovid.com/10.1097/DSS.0000000…
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Yet another new South Korean player. Qstem (also called Q-Stem) plans to form new hair follicles via the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from a patient’s own blood.
hairlosscure2020.com/qstem-p…
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Veradermics demonstrated solid efficacy with 84.4% of men experiencing improvement on 2x a day VDPHL01, with an increase in terminal hair count of 33.0 hairs/cm² compared with 7.3 for placebo at 6 months. The results appear similar to 5% topical minoxidil but with more responders
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Amplifica’s Phase I re AMP-303 highlights a subgroup of “responders,” without showing enough about the full treatment group, placebo comparison, baseline hair counts, or consistency of the effect.
That means the complete dataset likely doesn’t show any positive benefit to the placebo group. Sad, but expected.
The AMP-303 treatment leverages hyaluronic acid / CD44 signaling, which may be able to trigger or support anagen entry, partly through p-AKT upregulation, ROS, and resultant upregulation of β-catenin.
This is not the same thing as strong canonical Wnt activation, so it may be better at nudging follicles into growth than at truly reversing androgenetic miniaturization. As a standalone treatment, the Phase 1 data shows it will likely have no effect. There is no data for it as an adjunct therapy, although many failed standalone treatments can be added as an adjunct, so this is not saying much.
Despite lackluster results, HA/CD44-based approaches are probably more promising than Amplifica’s SCUBE3 program. SCUBE3’s reported hair effect depends on activating TGF-β receptors in epithelial cells. Genetic and expression data implicate TGF-β overactivation in AGA, especially in dermal papilla signaling, so a therapy working through that axis is less likely to generate growth than one that appears to inhibit TGF-β1, like Hyaluronic Acid / AMP303.
Summary on AMP-303: Interesting mechanism, weak clinical proof, maybe some growth stimulation, but not yet convincing evidence of a meaningful AGA breakthrough.
Interesting article from Papa smurf on hair growth product development at Amplifica
There's a new paper on hyaluronic acid for hair growth, so I wrote a review of it and Amplifica. It touches on all their upcoming hair loss treatments: AMP-303 (HA), AMP-203 + AMP-506 (osteopontin and possibly HA), and AMP601 (SCUBE3).
medium.com/p/amplifica-hope-…
Kevin McElwee retweeted
They presented today. It shows some signs of hair growth in the treatment group, but I don't see any indication yet that it can compete with minoxidil. My assumptions remain unchanged. Base case is JAK inhibitor-type growth. Best case is minoxidil equivalence.
Pelage completed phase 2 and raised money to begin phase 3 in 2026, led by GV and ARCH. Phase 2 results will be presented at a medical meeting in 2026. My best guess is it will be at the AAD Annual Meeting March 27–31. That's where they presented in 2024.
pelagepharma.com/press-relea…
In the UK today, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have approved a JAK inhibitor medicine deuruxolitinib (Leqselvi) to treat severe alopecia areata in adults. 👏
alopecia.org.uk/news/mhra-ap…
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Knockout of the conserved DP inductive marker ALP reduces CCL5 expression in human DP spheres. When combined with mouse epidermal cells, CCL5 knockdown suppresses hair neogenesis similarly to ALP knockdown. Knockdown of CCL5 and its epidermal receptor CCR1 abolishes neogenesis.
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Very important article about hair systems. I can’t recall any similar case report of the last 25-30 years. Congrats to the authors.
Hair Prosthetic Injuries Disproportionately Affect Women in US Emergency Departments practicaldermatology.com/new… via @ReachMD
Kevin McElwee retweeted
The article being referenced is here: japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/0…
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Dr. Brett King shares practical guidance with The Dermatologist on treatment initiation, response assessment, and strategies for dose adjustment, discontinuation, and switching of JAK inhibitors for alopecia areata.
hmpgloballearningnetwork.com…
News item link: mediarelations.gwu.edu/study…
Kevin McElwee retweeted
Topical delgocitinib 2% in randomized phase 2a FFA trial reduced lesional Th1 signals & shifted scalp transcriptomics —more non-lesional profile, w- clinical improvement & good tolerability, by Dr. @EmmaGuttman Dr. Del Duca, w- Dr. Maryanne Makredes Senna bit.ly/4sLuhEu
