MATERIALS AND METHODS

Alopecia markedly reduces a patient’s quality of life1 and is thus an important topic in nurs-ing science. Administrations of minoxidil and finasteride are the most established treatments for androgenetic alopecia at present.2,3 However, their ef-ficacy varies among individuals,4 suggesting that some intrinsic factors affect the pathology and/or treatment of androgenetic alopecia. Recently, some researchers have identified an association between alopecia and metabolic syndrome (MS).5 We and other research-ers have shown elevated oxidative stress in the skin of patients with MS6–8 and in the scalp of patients with alopecia areata.9 Furthermore, reduced activity of paraoxonases (PONs, antioxidant enzymes) has been shown in patients with alopecia areata.10 Therefore, we hypothesized that the administration of the sub-strate of PONs would attenuate oxidative stress and enhance progression in the hair cycle in the skin of MS model mice. In this study, we demonstrated the promoting effects of N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-l-homo-serine lactone (HSL), a substrate of PONs, applied topically to the back of ob/ob mice on hair growth through the attenuation of oxidative stress.