Verteporfin Hair Regeneration

A recent study was published in April 2022. Researchers from the University of Stanford studied the drug Verteporfin, which the FDA approved to treat eye diseases. They aimed to eliminate scarring. To effectively treat scarring, you must maintain the epidermal structure, hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and dermal appendages. 

Verteporfin works by blocking the Engrailed-1 fibroblast pathway. By blocking the Engrailed-1 pathway, researchers found that skin wounds no longer developed scars. 

Will Verteporfin Work For Hair Loss?

To date, no one has tested Verteporfin on the scalp. The present research shows that it can regenerate hair follicles punctured through a wound, but there is no evidence that it can regenerate hair follicles that DHT has shrunk.  

Verteporfin is not likely to treat male pattern baldness significantly. However, combined with surgical hair restoration, it may effectively cure hair loss as we know it. Suppose Verteporfin can inhibit the scarring pathway for hair transplant harvesting wounds. In that case, it can regenerate the skin structure, hair follicles, sebaceous glands, and extracellular matrix- this would mean that every hair follicle removed from the scalp would regenerate, leaving the donor area untouched.