Sulfasalazine: A rheumatoid arthritis drug provides full frontal regrowth

Check out this thread from HLH- http://www.hairlosshelp.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=89978&STARTPAGE=1&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

A guy is claiming to have full frontal regrowth after being on a high does of Sulfasalazine for several months. Interestingly, Sulfasalazine has indeed been used to successfully treat Alopecia Areata which is an autoimmune disorder.

http://www.nature.com/nri/journal/v2/n6/full/nri835.html

http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/Dermatology/Sulfasalazine-may-be-effective-in-alopecia-areata-/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/666211

http://www.eblue.org/article/S0190-9622(06)04032-1/abstract

Sulfasalazine is an anti-inflammatory and an immunosuppressant. It also inhibits MMPs.

From http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/48/10/1208
Results. SSZ blocked GAG and collagen fragment release from bovine cartilage, and reduced active and total collagenase activity in a dose-dependent manner. SSZ transcriptionally blocked MMP-1, -13 and ADAMTS-4, and reduced the protein levels of MMP-1 and -13 in a dose-dependent

Im starting to think that an inflammatory immune response is the main contributor to frontal recession and could quite possibly explain why androgen deprivation works primarily only on the vertex area and generally tends to have no effect on the front. I find it interesting that Sulfasaline inhibits MMP-1 and -13 and not -2 and -9. I thought it was the latter that were strongly correlated hair follicle apoptosis but perhaps MMP-1 and -13 also play a role? Does ecklonia cava have an effect MMP-1 and -13?

May be guys with alopecia areata are good Sulfasalazine responder.

Alopecia areata Syndroms:

Roundish patches of hair loss on the head
Smooth, hairless scalp in the affected areas
Hair loss on other areas of the body, including eye brows, eye lashes and body hair and MPB.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease and it was said that Sulfasalazine is an
autoimmune oppressor. May be that's the reason why it is working for those guys
suffering from alopecia areata.

LOL, it's yet out of stock here:
http://www.inhousepharmacy.com/digestive/salazopyrin.html

The guy on HLH doesn't appear to have AA, he had MPB style recession and it worked for him.

I had a similar thread on here last week, and I agree the poster seems to have MPB.

I am beginning to wonder if MPB is closer to aa than many of us think...

My lack of clarity. In my opinion both - aa and MPB -
are autoimmune diseases.

baller234 - I know, read the whole thread.
It's only a speculation that someone with alopecia areata could be a good Sulfasalazine responder.

Yeah you're right however there are some studies that say it works fors AA. I also think that AGA is an auto immune disease. There have been too many accounts of people regrowing hair while on immunosuppressants.

only way to find out is to try it!

i do belive mpb has an autoimmune aspect to it, definteley! i think if you are at an early stage in your mpb this drug may have an effect.

baller234,

one of the side effects of immunosuppressants drugs is hair growth.

Exactly. I think it's the immune system rather than a preset genetic sensitivity that determines the "pattern" in AGA. It would be interesting if some one who had been castrated after they had already "balded" was given an immunosuppressant. I bet they'd regrow a good amount of hair.

anything natural that we can try to suppress our immune system? wow never thought id see myself writing that.

Im going to look in to this as i am suffering from serious joint pain - neck, shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles. Popping, cracking and pain.

Elan, check this out and let me know what you think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfasalazine

This was also interesting to me as this may be tied to RA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcerative_colitis

elan164 wrote:Im going to look in to this as i am suffering from serious joint pain - neck, shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles. Popping, cracking and pain.

elan164,

Quick question. Is your voice not as deep or strong as could be?

jdp701 wrote:

elan164 wrote:Im going to look in to this as i am suffering from serious joint pain - neck, shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles. Popping, cracking and pain.

elan164,

Quick question. Is your voice not as deep or strong as could be?

Hey jdp701,

My voice occasionally feels that way -- any idea what it could mean?

As I doubt it's widely thought by most people that MPB is an auto-immune disorder, (I have no opinion as of now, until I become more educated, but it seems quite possible) what's everyone's theory as to what would happen if some average Joe who's losing their hair starting taking these pills?

LA-Night,

The short answer is probably "Dicistroviridae or Silkworm virus carried by Serratia marcescens and St.mitis," since this iis a hair loss forum. I tried posting some information on TK's recent thread as it's all connected.

Not sure what to say other than to get a $2,000 rife machine though.

action<reaction wrote:As I doubt it's widely thought by most people that MPB is an auto-immune disorder, (I have no opinion as of now, until I become more educated, but it seems quite possible) what's everyone's theory as to what would happen if some average Joe who's losing their hair starting taking these pills?

i think someone will be trialling the drug for hairloss over at hairlosshelp.

-Jdp70

Hard to say, i dont think my voice is deep and quite often my voice cracks like when going through puberty; im 26. My girlfriend thinks my voice is deep, but shes the only one ive ever had tell that.

Forgot to mention that my voice isnt strong, i think its average in the tone department, but my voice definitely isnt that loud.

This thread is really, really interesting to me for several reasons.

The first thing I tested myself for was Hypothyroidism, but of course the blood work came back "normal".

Having a weak, almost scooped out feeling voice, constant fatigue, dry hair that seems to love base jumping, dry skin (lips have been cracked for months, skin has been peeling over on knuckles and hands uncontrollably), inability to concentrate.

I can't attribute weight gain to this entirely because of recent use of SSRI's, and a dealt with sensitivity to gluten, which in itself an autoimmune reaction right?

Should I be interested in this?

Updates: http://www.hairlosshelp.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=89978&STARTPAGE=7&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

wow this is a damn interesting thread.

baller234 wrote:Im starting to think that an inflammatory immune response is the main contributor to frontal recession and could quite possibly explain why androgen deprivation works primarily only on the vertex area and generally tends to have no effect on the front.

If and inflammatort immune response is the main contributor to frontal loss, what triggers this ? Is this not androgens like the vertex ?

Awsome thread btw.. looking forward to CS view on the matter.

This IS very interesting as capsaicin is a substance that also has some basis as a natural arthritis treatment and also in some hair loss studies. Maybe there is something in this..

what is the correlation between weak voice and those viruses? i dont see much info online