December 2006 – Page 11

December 5, 2006

Arm Hair Grew in Very Thick After Removing Cast – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hey Doc,

I broke my arm 2 years ago and had a cast for 4 months. After removing the cast, I noticed that the hair on my arms were REALLY thick and sprouted all over the place. It was kind of scary, but after about 2 months all the hair returned to normal.

Can you explain what caused this? I have always been curious.

Many people that are required to wear a cast see what you’ve reported. This occurs because the arm hair which sheds frequently as the short hair cycle pushes out old hair (a half to one inch in length) is protected in the cast so that it does not fall out day be day. Most people with normal bathing and showers will get these old hairs to fall out by a simple scrub.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 4, 2006

Hair Loss InformationAlopecia Areata Gene? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr you responded to one of my questions suggesting that I get tested for the alopecia areata gene…i contacted the naaf & the person i spoke with said she is not aware if testing for the gene is possible, can you tell me if you know otherwise and where i can get this testing done?

Block Quote

Angela Christiano, a researcher at Columbia University, studied alopecia areata and alopecia totalis in populations of families. She found genetic evidence that made people prone to this disease. I found this article in the Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology, Alopecia areata: current state of knowledge, which could be another starting point for your research. Here is an abstract of the article:

Blaumeiser B – J Am Acad Dermatol – 01-APR-2006; 54(4): 627-32, From NIH/NLM MEDLINE, NLM Citation ID: 16546583 (PubMed) Full Source Title: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Department of Medical Genetics, University Hospital of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. bettina.blaumeiser@ua.ac.be Authors: Blaumeiser B; van der Goot I; Fimmers R; Hanneken S; Ritzmann S; Seymons K; Betz RC; Ruzicka T; Wienker TF; De Weert J; Lambert J; Kruse R; NÃ¶then MM

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Familial aggregation of alopecia areata (AA) has been previously described, but systematic studies with information obtained directly from family members have yet to be undertaken. OBJECTIVE: We sought to study the pattern of familial aggregation of AA by assessing the affection status of patients’ relatives. The study included 206 index patients with a total of 1029 first-degree and 2625 second-degree relatives. METHODS: First-degree relatives were directly interviewed, whereas information on second-degree relatives was obtained by interviewing the index patients and their first-degree relatives. RESULTS: Estimated lifetime risks were 7.1% in siblings, 7.8% in parents, and 5.7% in offspring. The risk in second-degree relatives was slightly higher than the reported population risk. Age at onset in index patients and first-degree relatives was significantly correlated. LIMITATIONS: Using patients drawn from specialized hair clinics may have produced results showing a higher proportion of early onset and severe cases. CONCLUSION: The familial aggregation of AA supports the role of genetic factors in the development of the disease. In addition, our data indicate genetic factors might contribute to the age at onset of AA.

For a Complete Review, you might locate the following article: Alopecia areata: current state of knowledge. Norris D – J Am Acad Dermatol – 01-JUL-2004; 51(1 Suppl): S16-7 From NIH/NLM MEDLINE Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO 80262, USA.

December 4, 2006

Can Toppik Cause Hair Loss if Left In Overnight? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have read through yours blogs and did get some great insight but im still not understanding one thing. I just bought Toppik to help with my thin hair but i left it in over night and when i washed it out, i found that i had alot of hair loss in the area it was in. Can Toppik cause this? I had a transplant already and it didnt work at all since the are that was treated is the area that the hair is still falling out from. So thts wht i tried the Toppik product but if it causes hair loss or more hair loss i will stop. Please help as i do enjoy the fullness it gives. Thank you.

Block Quote

I have not heard from anyone that Toppik has caused hair loss. You might want to try DermMatch if you do think Toppik isn’t working for you.

December 4, 2006

Woman with Unusual Body and Facial Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m a 21 yr old female… since i was about 14-15 i’ve had hair growing in strange places .. for a female..

now at 21 i have a beared… sideburns.. upper lip hair… chest hair.. and ive found 1-2 long black hairs on my shoulders…

i’ve had tests done and everything nothings been found … id really like to know if this treatment could help me .. or if u have any idea what could help me..

its only getting worse.. hope to hear from u soon

Male pattern hair growth on the face and body in women is usually secondary to hormonal imbalance and a thorough evaluation is necessary in most cases. Twenty percent of these patients have a normal hormonal level and may suffer from idiopathic hirsutism (IH). Idiopathic hirsutism is typically due to increased numbers of androgen receptors or increased 5 alpha reductase activities. Patients with IH may respond well to antiandrogen or 5-alpha reductase inhibitors like finasteride. Of course, this group of medications should not be used in women who may become pregnant, because of their effect on the baby’s genital development. You can discuss this issue with your doctor for further diagnosis and possible treatment.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 4, 2006

Why Would Libido and Breast Side Effects Occur with Finasteride Use? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,

Is it unhealthy for a young man with a normal size prostate to take a drug (finasteride) which shrinks his prostate? It seems as though shrinking an organ that is a healthy size is a bad idea?

Also, since propecia actually causes more testosterone to be released in a man’s body, why is breast enlargement (which seems like too much estrogen), and loss of libido, etc a potential side effect? It seems more logical to me that with increased testosterone, a man would have an increase in libido, stronger erections, more ejaculate, more muscle (smaller breasts), etc.. But the reverse side-effects are listed as being caused by finasteride. Could you explain why?

There is no evidence that finasteride (Propecia) shrinks normal sized prostates, but to the best of my knowledge, the prostate size in young men has not been studied. The reason that testosterone levels rise simply reflects the brilliance of the human body, which recognizes that DHT levels are dropping on Propecia so it compensates with increasing the levels of testosterone. Men need a certain level of male hormones and the human body regulates that level by pushing the testicles to make more or less testosterone to achieve those levels. Testosterone levels rise an average of 15-18% when a person is on Propecia, which does increase the sex drive in some men (about 10% in my experience). That happened to me when I started my Propecia, so I know this from personal experience. One possible explanation for the other effects you asked about might show that finasteride might directly antagonize androgen action in breast tissue. If that was the case, it might indirectly increase the estrogen concentration in the body and cause these effects, but this is strictly a guess on my part as there is no evidence for this. I can not explain the other things you asked about. Sorry.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 4, 2006

St John’s Wort and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Does St Johns Wort cause hairloss as much as prescribed antidepressants? Thank you

Antidepressants are known to cause hair loss, however there are no reported cases I can find of hair loss from this herbal treatment. With that said, as this is not an FDA controlled drug, there is no regulation covering the ‘need to know’.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 4, 2006

Is Facial Hair Growth Related to DHT? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I always had little facial and body hair until I was about 20. Now my facial hair grows faster and thicker. Coincidently my hairloss is much worse then before and itches a lot more. Is facial hair growth related to DHT fluctuations do you think?

I believe that DHT is one of the hormones that stimulate our male sex characteristics, like voice change, beard and chest hair, and hair loss in the unfortunate men who have the ‘genetic hair loss’ curse. I have seen in very rare cases some patients that have disappearance or decrease of body hair with Propecia use.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 4, 2006

FUE on Women? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am one week away from my 8th month post-op. 1600 hairs were transplanted into my top scalp. I also asked the surgeon to take care of a thin area around the crown would sounds much like the person who wrote to you about: “Diagonal Balding Line on Scalp ….. It starts about where my cowlick is and runs diagonally for about 4-5 inches…..”

The area does not seem to be improving so I am getting my mind around getting a FUE procedure done when I reach the 12 or 15 month mark.

What do you think about FUE on females?

I am worried about shock loss as I did have a noticeable amount.

Please write …

God Bless

Hair transplantation in women is often unwise unless there are certain situations where the transplant can actually benefit the patient and the donor hair is normal. Many women do not have normal donor hair, impacted by miniaturization, which means that the hair will grow in weak and most of the miniaturized hairs will not grow. Sounds like you may have a problem with goals, diagnosis, and setting expectations that are realistic. I find that if a transplant doctor does work on many women patients, that doctor is often less reputable. I find that less than 20% of women qualify for a hair transplant, which means that the donor hair is healthy in adequate quantities and the goals are realistic and confined to small areas. FUT or FUE can be done on women and men, but first you need to probably get a second opinion before going down that road again.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 4, 2006

African Scalp Pigment Different in Balding Area – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

1) Is there a point of no return that it’s pointless to attempt to regrow hair, like an age or length of baldness?

2) I have accepted my baldness, but NOT the two-tone scalp that comes with it, even with close against the grain shaving, the scalp pigment/melanin makes my hair loss obvious. I’m light-skinned black and would prefer that the side and back lighten to the rest of skintone rather than darken entire body to remedy this. Cost effective solution?

To answer your first question, the skin from under the scalp (the skin that is balding now) was protected from sun exposure (the sun adds color to the skin by increasing pigmentation). The lighter color you are seeing resulted from the protection of the hair cover that is now disappearing. When the hair is disappearing, the skin also changes. It becomes progressively thinner and as the fine hair get finer, the lighter appearing skin shows up more. The skin also loses its support infrastructure made up by many of the blood vessels that were there to support the hair follicles that were growing. At this point, only a hair transplants can bring back the hair. The vascular infrastructure that comes from stem cells and fat located in the transplanted hair, will also return more of the supporting infrastructure that supports a hair transplant.

Obviously the less contrast between the hair and skin the better the less noticeable will be the lighter skin. You can do two things to improve this contrast. You can either increase the darkness of the scalp using topical cosmetics like DermMatch (this requires some hair to be present or it acts like a can of spray paint) or have a tattoo (I do not recommend a tattoo), or you can dye whatever hair you still have left (add bits of white color to it) or even cut it very short (afro style). I can give you a referral to a doctor in Los Angeles who can help if you want pigment cell transplants instead of hair transplants.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

December 1, 2006

Persistent Forelock of Actor Jude Law – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 27 year old man with straight jet black hair. I’ve been thinning since I was 21. I still have alot hair left but a really bad receding hairline and a sharp widow’s peak similar to Jude Law in this pic.

What kind of procedure would you recommend for some one like me or Jude Law?

Block Quote

The photo you linked to (and others I’ve seen online) suggests that Jude Law has a Norwood Class 3 balding problem and he seems to have a strong persistent forelock which will probably last as the corners progressively go back. Some people are fine with this pattern, but if he were my patient, I would suggest that he go on Propecia and stay on it for life. Otherwise, he may suffer the fate of actor Bill Murray or late-night talk host David Letterman, both of which had strong forelocks at one point, though Letterman seems to still maintain his.

As for what I’d suggest for you, I’d have to see your actual hair loss before making a recommendation. You can send photos (please reference this blog posting) and I’ll be able to provide further information.