docj077
Senior Member
- Reaction score
- 1
Bryan said:docj077 said:Increased IGF-1 levels in the scalp is associated with vertex baldness
Do you have a reference or citation for that claim? That would appear to contradict the material I posted recently over on HLH saying that IGF-1 is a powerful mitogen for hair follicles.
docj077 said:DHT itself is quite likely what upregulates the production of IGF-1 in balding scalp.
I'd really like to see some evidence for that, or even just that IGF-1 is "associated" with balding.
This is all I've really found wiht regards to IGF-1 and vertex baldness, but it is interesting nonetheless.
J Am Acad Dermatol 2000 Jun;42(6):1003-7 Vertex balding, plasma insulin-like growth factor 1, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3. Platz EA, Pollak MN, Willett WC, Giovannucci E.
BACKGROUND: A recent report suggested that men with vertex balding have higher levels of plasma insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The association of its major carrier protein, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), with male pattern hair loss has not been examined. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the relations of plasma concentrations of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 with vertex balding in middle-aged and elderly men. METHODS: Participants were 431 male members of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study who responded to a question in 1992 on their hair pattern at 45 years of age and who were 47 to 81 years old when they provided a blood specimen in 1993-1994. Odds ratios (ORs) of vertex balding associated with IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were estimated from logistic regression models mutually adjusting for each other and controlling for age at blood draw. RESULTS: Of the 431 men, 128 had vertex balding at age 45. Compared with men who were not balding, for a 1 standard deviation increase in plasma IGF-1 level (72.4 ng/mL), the OR for vertex balding was 1. 31 (95% CI, 0.95-1.81). For a 1 standard deviation increase in plasma IGFBP-3 (957 ng/mL), the OR for vertex balding was 0.62 (95% CI, 0.44-0.8. CONCLUSION: Older men with vertex balding have lower circulating levels of IGFBP-3 and higher levels of IGF-1 when controlling for IGFBP-3 level
J Am Acad Dermatol 1999 Feb;40(2 Pt 1):200-3 Hormones and hair patterning in men: a role for insulin-like growth factor 1? Signorello LB, Wuu J, Hsieh C, Tzonou A, Trichopoulos D, Mantzoros CS.
BACKGROUND: Androgens are important in hair growth and patterning, whereas growth hormone substitution enhances their effect in growth hormone-deficient men. No previous study has jointly evaluated the function of sex steroids, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) in determining hair patterning in men. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the relationship between circulating hormone measurements and both head and chest hair patterning in a sample of elderly men. METHODS: Fifty-one apparently healthy men older than 65 years of age were studied cross-sectionally. Head and chest hair patterning was assessed by a trained interviewer. Morning blood samples from all subjects were used for measurements of testosterone, estradiol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, SHBG, and IGF-1. RESULTS: Results were obtained from logistic regression models, adjusting simultaneously for all the measured hormones and age. Men with higher levels of testosterone were more likely to have vertex baldness (odds ratio [OR] = 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI: 0.9 to 7.8] per 194 ng/dL increment of testosterone). In addition, for each 59 ng/mL increase in IGF-1, the odds of having vertex baldness doubled (95% CI [1.0 to 4.6]). Those who were found to have higher circulating levels of SHBG were less likely to have dense hair on their chest (OR = 0.4, 95% CI [0.1 to 0.9] per 24 nmol/L increment in SHBG]). CONCLUSION: Testosterone, SHBG, and IGF-1 may be important in determining hair patterning in men.