Hair loss can occur at any age. While it’s more common in older people, it can affect children, too. When it does, it is usually the result of childhood alopecia. Scientists are now developing a treatment for this autoimmune disease that causes hair loss.
What We Know About Childhood Alopecia
Each year, 3% of children in the US visit a pediatrician for problems with hair loss. Most of them experience hair loss in patches, a common symptom of alopecia areata. This autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system starts attacking healthy hair follicles.
This disease disrupts the standard hair growth cycle. As a result, your hair can get stuck in the resting phase. Your hair will then start falling out, but you’ll be unable to grow new hair. There’s no way to tell how long this could last or predict the outcome of the disease.
There are several treatments that could help you prevent further hair loss and even regrow your hair. But the problem is that many of them are not safe for children. Scientists have thus been working hard on developing specific treatments for childhood alopecia.
How This New Treatment Could Help
After years of research, the first alopecia drug tailored specifically to children could hit the market very soon. Dubbed HC017AA, this injection is the brainchild of the Texas-based biochemical company HCell. So far, they have kept the ingredients of the injection under wraps.
According to reports, it contains an unspecified blend of biologic and autologous tissues. This blend helps activate the potassium receptors in the scalp and may thus stimulate new hair growth. Preliminary trials showed that this new drug is effective in children under the age of 16.
Looking Ahead
The FDA has recently granted the HC017AA the “orphan drug” status. This means that the drug is safe for use, but is yet to become available commercially. When it does hit the market in the coming months, it could give new hope to thousands of children dealing with hair loss.
