Alopecia totalis
Encyclopedia
Alopecia totalis is the loss of all head hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....

. Its causes are unclear, but it is currently believed to be an autoimmune disorder. Stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...

 is sometimes thought to be a contributor in alopecia areata. However, many people leading relatively stress-free lives experience the syndrome.

Treatment

Methotrexate
Methotrexate
Methotrexate , abbreviated MTX and formerly known as amethopterin, is an antimetabolite and antifolate drug. It is used in treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, ectopic pregnancy, and for the induction of medical abortions. It acts by inhibiting the metabolism of folic acid. Methotrexate...

 and corticosteroid
Corticosteroid
Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. Corticosteroids are involved in a wide range of physiologic systems such as stress response, immune response and regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism, protein catabolism, blood electrolyte...

s are proposed treatments.
On the date of 29/06/2006 Diphenylcyclopropenone was granted orphan designation by the European Medicines agency for the treatment of Alopecia Totalis and the Treatment of Alopecia universalis. Please follow the link for full details;
community register of orphan medicinal products
Orphan designation is not market approval for a product, but approval given to a pharmaceutical company to develop a product.
Below is the European medicines agency definition of orphan designation;

A designation from the European Medicines Agency's Committee on Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) permits a pharmaceutical company to benefit from incentives from the European Union to develop a medicine for a rare disease such as a genetic disorder or a rare cancer. A large number of these diseases affect children and newborn babies.
Once orphan designation is granted a medicine may be developed by the pharmaceutical company.
for further information on orphan drugs' please follow this link; orphan drug designation

External links

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