Advance-CTR

Advance-CTR Grant Resubmission Awards (Cohort 2)

" Determining triggers of hair loss in alopecia areata "

Alopecia areata (AA) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, with a lifetime risk of 2% and affecting approximately 4.5 million people in the United States. It results in sudden loss of scalp and facial hair, due to which patients experience significant psychological and emotional suffering.

A better understanding of the natural history and pathogenesis of hair loss related to AA would greatly improve patient care. Therefore, we propose to investigate the triggers of hair loss in adult patients with patchy AA.

The overarching goal of this proposal is to better understand the natural history and systemic pathogenesis of hair loss in AA through an online hair loss diary to monitor the hair loss and by identifying lifestyle markers including nutritional markers that might be associated with autoimmune flares. This patient-focused approach may enhance our ability to refine treatment timing and facilitate population-based studies of AA in a cost-effective manner. We will generate novel insights to guide future lifestyle and therapeutic clinical trials of AA and establish an extensive dataset extensive demographic and lifestyle data, and disease natural history information from AA patients for use in future clinical studies.