February 2007 – Page 7

February 19, 2007

Radiation Therapy in 10 Year Old Caused Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman, my son had a medulloblastoma at age 10. He underwent whole brain radiation with a posterior fossa boost. This left him with very little frontal hair and no hair in his inferior occiput. The hair he does have is somewhat thin. Could your type of transplant help? Is there benefit with your method for him over other, standard methods?

Hair loss is one of the most common side effects of brain radiation therapy. It usually occur about two weeks after you have the brain radiation. Hair loss is usually limited to the area of treatment, but patients may occasionally lose all of their scalp hair. Hair loss after radiation could be temporary and it may grow back within weeks to months following radiation. Higher doses of radiation and frequent radiations may damage hair follicles permanently and leave patient with baldness.

In some patients, the hair grows back with a different character. Hair color or character may also change, becoming thinner and more fragile.

If your son did not grow hair one year after radiation therapy, he needs to be evaluated by a hair specialist. If his hair loss is limited to a particular area and he has preserved good quality hair in other areas, he may be a candidate for hair transplant. What I want to know is whether there are any areas where the hair is normal. If the answer is yes, maybe there are things that might be offered.

February 16, 2007

Cycling Finasteride – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is it possible to go on a Finasteride “cycle” in the same way a body builder will go on a “cycle” with steroids to avoid the brunt of major side effects? Has anyone tried this with finasteride? (i.e., take it for 6 months then stay off it for 3 months or something to that effect). I understand that finasteride has a long half-life and will stay in your system for a long period even after stopping dosage. I wonder if you can avoid or limit some of the side effects.
Thanking you in advance for your response.

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Bucket Finasteride has a very short half life. If you have a leaking bucket, and it dripped slowly and you decided to stop the drip for every other day, it would just take longer for the bucket to empty, but it will eventually empty. Think of your hair as the bucket full of water, dripping out drop by drop every day, some days less than others. Cycling Propecia just slows down the loss that will happen sooner or later, but unlike the bucket of water which you can just refill, when the hair is gone, it is gone! I hope you get the message?

February 16, 2007

Saw Palmetto and Grapefruit Juice – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Who am I to try to create new ideals Doc, but what do you think of 160mg twice a day of Saw Palmetto, with Grapefruit or Grapefruit juice(since it increases the potentcy of certain drugs) with Neutrogena T-Gel 5 days a week(i have normal to oily hair). I am 20 years of age(I am blessed to still be young), and all I absolutely know is preventing baldness is easier than trying to regrow it. All I want is a naturally, farely cost efficient method to prevent it.

I’ll let you know in several months if anything has improved. I would like to think that since I’m young I can help prevent future psychological problems, b/c of worried hairloss in men. I say this because of my personal experience. I was a banquet waiter for a large catering company, and b/c i wouldn’t gel my hair up, I wouldn’t get promoted from banquet waiter to a banquet captain, meaning going from $11.00 to $12.50 an hour. I got over it, it just sucks that i know other men like me experience this kind of stuff also. Thanks for listening again. Your brother in war

Grapefruit Saw palmetto extract has been studied for its use in prostate disease without any proof that it has value. It is also claimed to be beneficial for treatment of hair loss, but again, with no proof of value. Although its mechanism of action is not quite clear, the claims suggest that it works through a mechanism similar to finasteride by blocking 5-alpha reductase and lowering DHT levels, but those are claims without any proof.

Even though this product is available over the counter as an herbal supplement, more studies are needed to prove its efficiency for treatment of hair loss and also to prove its safety.

You announced your decision on testing your own formula. Good luck and keep us posted with the result of your research.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

February 16, 2007

Ritalin and Hair Loss – Balding Blog

I turned 17 about 2 months ago. I’ve been taking ritalin SR for 5-6 months now. I’ve noticed recently that my hair has been receding slowly. Currently it looks like my hair line has gone back about a good 1/2 inch.

If I stop taking this medication will my hair ever grow back?

Ritalin is used to treat ADD — Attention Deficit Disorder. It is commonly used and there are some reports of hair loss associated with this drug, however, at the age of 17, you might be seeing the early maturation of your hairline and you should want to get your hair mapped out for miniaturization to be sure that you do not have genetic balding. As you are in California, come visit me at my Beverly Hills or Newport Beach office to find out and I will map your hair and scalp (no charge for the visit).

February 16, 2007

Pulling Hair Very Hard – Balding Blog

Is it possible to pull a hair shaft so hard and suddenly that it actually removes the follicle along with it?

You can remove hair, but the generative part of the follicle will stay and is able to make another hair. Persistent pulling of hair may damage its follicle and cause permanent hair loss. This condition, which is called traction alopecia, could be seen in people who braid their hair tightly or use extensions for a long period of time.

February 16, 2007

I’m 72 Years Old and Losing a Few Hairs Each Day – Balding Blog

I have perused your website and your answers to many questions relating to hair loss but have not found an answer that addresses my question. I am a 72 year old male. I still have a full head of hair with very little greying but I have begun to notice that there are long hairs (few each day) in my comb. Can I stop any further loss?

Hair loss does appear in the elderly. I’m not calling you elderly, as you are only 7 years older than I am — and I am certainly not near elderly. What I mean though, is that even the elderly lose 100 hairs per day. As long as you do not look like you’re balding, don’t worry, be happy (as the song goes)!

February 16, 2007

Doctor Said I “Probably” Have Female Pattern Baldness – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 24 year old female. After a 7 minute consultation with a dermatologist I was diagnosed as “probably” having female pattern baldness, and I could try rogaine. Yeah, I’m looking for another doctor who might be interested in looking into exactly what’s happening and treatment options beyond minoxidil.

My question though is, some of the hairs that I shed have a weird kink in them about 1.5 inches down. I have my hair dyed and have done for about 6 years but the kink doesn’t seem to fit into any dying or styling pattern so I was curious as to whether this might be an indication of what is causing my balding?

Female pattern baldness is discussed in many posts in this blog (see Female Hair Loss). In this condition, hair is miniaturized in a pattern that may or may not be similar to the man’s pattern. The more common type of balding/thinning is female unpatterned hair loss where the hair loss is spread throughout the scalp without a clear pattern. The donor area (the fringe area around the back and sides of the hair) is often included in the balding process when the process is unpatterned and the quality of the donor hair is poor because of the high degree of miniaturization present, so women do not make good candidates for a hair transplant in the this unpatterned form. In some women, the donor area is not uniformly thin, but over time it may become thin. So if a hair transplant doctor uses this hair for a hair transplant, when the process of thinning spreads, the transplanted hair may become thin or fall out.

Diagnosis of this unpatterned condition is not always easy and the other causes of hair loss, such as iron deficiency, thyroid disorders, and autoimmune diseases should be ruled out before making the diagnosis of female pattern baldness. Above all, the patient’s hair needs to be mapped for miniaturization to confirm the diagnosis.

Kinks in your hair may be related to the miniaturization that may at times change the hair’s character and color. Again, if in doubt see a hair specialist to confirm your diagnosis and to get started on proper treatment.

February 15, 2007

Hair Loss InformationWhy Are You Suspicious of the FDA and the LaserComb Now? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Personally, I though the laser comb was just a joke!

I was very suprised to see the FDA’s results. Why are you so suspicous? The FDA is govt’ buracracy that is very conservative. Why would you not honor its results? Aren’t they “independent”?

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I too was surprised to see the level of endorsement for the use of the term ‘hair growth’. I have read a massive number of articles on Low Laser Light Therapy and it is clear that the articles seem to show some benefit in the 10-20% range. Each article, however, was sponsored by people or organizations that may have something to gain. What is needed is a completely independent analysis. I have had a laser in my office for some time, and some of my patients find that it helps. I do not charge for its use and the use is confined to my patients who have had surgery with me in the past. So now, I must confess that the use as a stimulant for hair growth seems to have some merit. I still go by my gut feeling, an application three times a day by a comb going through the hair just does not sit right with me and my intellectual judgment (which dictates a great deal about why I think that way). I wonder if sitting in the sun may have more value? I will try to keep an open mind.

February 15, 2007

Age vs Hair Cycles – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman

I am a 22 year old male who has been having chronic telogen effluvium for almost a year. Now I am finally correcting the underlying condition, and hopefully the 60 % of hair I have lost will grow in.

During this time my hair has gone through short truncated anagen cycles (maybe 2 or 3), does this mean the hair follicles have aged for many years so that genetic balding will start a lot sooner than it is supposed to?

In other words: is it the number of hair cycles or the person`s actual age which signals the onset of male patterned baldness?

I think many men who experience CTE or TE are worried about this, hope you can give a definite answer.

Thanks

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Some doctors believe that hairs have a certain number of hair cycles in their lifetime. That would indicate that you are correct — more cycles might mean acceleration of genetic hair loss. Drugs like Propecia and minoxidil are thought to prolong these hair cycles, theoretically keeping the number of cycles lower over a given number of years.

February 15, 2007

Iron Deficiency and Female Hair Loss – Balding Blog

Black 42 yr old female: Have several medical conditions fibroids, take cardia xt for irregular heartbeat. I have been to two dermatologist here have had a biopsy of the scalp.The doctor just ruled as thinning hair.?? I have for the past 3 years been balding in the crown of my head and thinning only on the left side of my head. I get the bumps on my scalp with puss. I also have a low iron deficiency. Could all or one thing be making my hair fall out and not grow?

Iron deficiency typically causes diffuse hair loss in patients, but be sure that this is all you have by obtaining a complete evaluation by a good doctor. This condition can also trigger pattern hair loss in genetically prone patients. Treatment of iron deficiency is easy with supplemental iron (don’t pick it up at the local scrap iron dealer — wink, wink). You need to complete your treatment course and wait six months to see if your hair grows back.