PGE2 & Thyroid

[macaroni]

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[Captain Hook]

to me that doesn't make sense since doctors typically prescribe iodine/iodide to those suffering from Thyroid disorders, which actually helps restore the hair.

Also, i've been seeing a lot of studies that indicate increase production of PGE2 is associated with cancerous cells/tumors; i know the current approach sought by several people is reduce PGD2 and increase PGE2 in scalp, but these other studies are just confusing the heck out of me. If anyone here is ahead on that research/investigation i'd greatly appreciate your thoughts on this.

It's actually levothyroxine (a synthetic levorotary isomer of T4, a thyroid hormone) that doctors commonly prescribe for hypothyroidism but I follow your logic nonetheless. Same goes for ketoconazole, which suppresses PGE2 yet somehow has growth stimulant effects equal to 2% minoxidil when used at a 2% concentration. (http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v119/n1/pdf/5601549a.pdf?origin=publication_detail) So it seems that PGE2 isn't the sole mediator of hair growth, it's just an important factor among many.

As for carcinogenesis, PGE2 isn't a carcinogen. Look at it this way, cancer cells, like all cells, use glucose for energy. Does this mean that sugar causes cancer? Of course not. Prostaglandins are abundant in the body and most cells have a use for them, cancer cells included. It's more of a correlation vs. causation argument. Hope this helps!

 

[whatevr]

Very very few things in the body are as clear-cut as we'd like them to be. I have hypothyroidism marked by elevated TSH, whether I take synthetic T4, or NDT T3 & T4, even when I brought my TSH down to 0 it had no positive or negative impact on my hair.

There are so many explanations.
Thyroid may produce PGE2, but how much, it could be used in other places. The positive impact of the PGE2 from the thyroid may be outweighed by something else (like PGD2). Many compounds also act positively in one part of the body and negatively in the other. Biology is very complex, and you will find many such paradoxes that will leave you stumped. We still don't know so many things about how the body works. The only reasonable thing is just to follow properly done studies which actually test a compound in relation to hair growth, rather than speculating in theory, and follow the empirical evidence. Many times things sound good in vitro but utterly fail in the body. That's my take on this very complex subject.

 

[Swoop]

The thyroid has nothing to do with the pathology of Androgenetic Alopecia. Literally nothing.

FYI btw prostaglandins primarily work and function in an autocrine/paracrine way. Not endocrine.

What are you trying to research exactly btw?