NIH AWARDS $1.77 MILLION GRANT TO CARF SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR PRATIMA KARNIK, PhD FOR CICATRICIAL ALOPECIA RESEARCH

Investigation will provide new information about the origins and development of the condition and may facilitate the creation of new and more effective therapies

Pratima Karnik, PhD

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23, 2009 -- The National Institutes of Health have awarded Principal Investigator Pratima Karnik, PhD (Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University), a grant of $1.77 million to fund a five-year study titled "PPAR-gamma Signaling in Normal Pilosebaceous Units and in Scarring Alopecia." This study will continue research already begun on linking a defect in lipid processing and peroxisome biogenesis to cicatricial alopecia.

"In preliminary studies that formed the basis of the NIH award, we provided insight into highly complex interactions between hair follicle cells and environmental factors that may cause cicatricial alopecia," said Dr. Karnik. "This funding provides us the support necessary to aggressively test novel ideas aimed at understanding progression of these diseases and the development of novel therapeutic strategies."

In December 2008, Dr. Karnik, and her collaborators, Paradi Mirmirani, MD (Case Western Reserve University and Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco), and Vera Price, MD (Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco), published findings that unprocessed lipids set the stage for developing scarring hair loss. The work suggests that either processed lipids are necessary for hair growth or unprocessed lipids are toxic. These clinical studies corroborate similar studies performed in mutant mice. In their preliminary studies, the researchers found that treating patients with drugs that enhance lipid processing relieved the clinical symptoms and signs of the disorder. See Karnik P, Tekeste Z, McCormick TS, Gilliam AC, Price VH, Cooper KD, Mirmirani P (2009) "Hair Follicle Stem Cell-Specific PPAR gamma Deletion Causes Scarring Alopecia." J Invest Dermatol 129: 1243-57.

According to Vera Price, MD, Co-Founder of the Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation (CARF), who has been treating this group of hair diseases for many years, "This grant is validation of Pratima Karnik's seminal work and will support further studies to unravel the mystery of these diverse diseases and explore new directions for their management."

This groundbreaking research by Drs. Karnik, Mirmirani and Price has been supported in part by the Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation (CARF).

BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERY IN HAIR BIOLOGY PAVES WAY FOR TREATING SCARRING HAIR LOSS

Collaborative scientific research reveals link between rare group of hair disorders and a defect in lipid processing

SAN FRANCISCO, Mar. 12, 2009 -- A breakthrough discovery in understanding hair biology paves the way for developing better treatments for cicatricial alopecia (scarring hair loss), an inflammatory permanent hair loss. The unprecedented findings link a defect in lipid processing to these rare and painful hair loss disorders.

In collaborative scientific research, Principal Investigator Pratima Karnik, PhD (Case Western Reserve University), Paradi Mirmirani, MD (Case Western Reserve University and University of California, San Francisco) and Vera Price, MD (University of California, San Francisco), found that unprocessed lipids set the stage for developing scarring hair loss. The work suggests that either processed lipids are necessary for hair growth or unprocessed lipids are toxic. These clinical studies corroborate similar studies performed in mutant mice. In preliminary studies, the researchers found that treating patients with drugs that enhance lipid processing relieved the clinical symptoms and signs of the disorder.

Karnik P et al. Hair Follicle Stem Cell-Specific PPAR gamma Deletion Causes Scarring Alopecia. J Invest Dermatol advance online publication, 4 December 2008

According to George Cotsarelis, MD, the Director of the University of Pennsylvania Hair and Scalp Clinic, who has been treating this group of hair diseases for more than fifteen years, "This research represents a great leap forward in the field of scarring hair loss. The study may lead to more effective treatments, and one day, possibly prevention of scarring hair loss, now an extremely difficult problem for both patient and physician. This work may also provide insights into other skin diseases."

This groundbreaking work was supported in part by the Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation (CARF).

Press Release Archive
2008

Annual Call for Research Proposals from Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation (CARF)
March 17, 2008
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World-Renowned Scientific Advisors for Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation (CARF) to Confer at the American Academy Of Dermatology (AAD) Meeting in San Antonio, Texas
January 11, 2008
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2006

American Academy of Dermatology Honors Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation (CARF) with Two Gold Triangle Awards
July 27, 2006
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