The Efficacy and Safety of Topical Valproic Acid in Preventing Hair Loss
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2012-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Beta-catenin, the transducer of Wnt signaling, is critical in development, growth, and
regeneration of hair. In the absence of Wnt signals, cytoplasmic β-catenin is maintained at
low level through regulation by GSK-3, multifunctional serine/threonin kinase. After
phosphorylation by GSK-3, β-catenin is ubiquitinated and degraded in cytoplasm. Therefore,
inhibition of GSK-3 is able to increase β-catenin in nucleus and would be able to induce
growth of hair. Valproic acid (VPA) is an anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug used for
decades and is known to inhibit the GSK-3β. However, the effect of VPA on hairs has not been
studied yet.