Alopecia UK Trustee and Research Committee Chairperson Karen Green recently attended the Alopecia Areata Research Summit, hosted by the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) and their Treatment Development Program (TDP). The two-day summit was held at Columbia University, New York, from 4th-5th December 2018 with the theme 'Forging the Future'. 

The summit attracted pharmaceutical companies and international research scientists from the USA, Brazil, UK, France, Switzerland, Italy and Australia. 

Presenters looked into the causes of Alopecia Areata (AA), shared learnings from research into other autoimmune conditions and discussed current and evolving AA treatment options. Much of the current AA treatment research continues to focus on JAK inhibitors, as well as the gut microbiome and platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Another key topic was patient related outcomes which covered areas such as; assessment of alopecia (e.g. the severity of alopecia tool - or SALT), how to define what patients consider successful treatment of AA, and the balance of treatment outcomes against potential risks.

Karen is pictured above with Dr Angela Christiano, Principal Investigator from the Alopecia Areata Center of Research Translation (ACORT).

Karen Green said "I was pleased to be invited to attend the NAAF Research Summit where I spent a very informative and inspiring couple of days. It is clear that progress is being made regarding research into Alopecia Areata, and that this condition has an increasingly high profile. I look forward to continuing Alopecia UK's dialogue with NAAF and exploring where we can collaborate as national alopecia charities"

Thank you to Karen for attending on behalf of Alopecia UK and to NAAF for the invitation to and organisation of the summit. For further information, click here for a more detailed summary from Karen. 

Looking ahead to future research meetings, Alopecia UK is looking forward to attending the World Congress for Hair Research (WCHR) in Barcelona in April, organised by the European Hair Research Society. It marks WCHR's first return to Europe since Edinburgh in 2013 (subsequent meetings were in USA (2015) and Japan (2017). We're looking forward to engaging with researchers, other alopecia organisations and pharmaceutical companies and learning about research developments not only in AA but other types of hair loss too.