December 2008 – Page 7

December 16, 2008

What If I Haven’t Seen Regrowth Results from Propecia At 9 Months? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

You always say at the 8th – 9th month mark you should see Propecia’s regrowth/thickening of hairs. If you haven’t seen anything by then does it mean there is no possibility of thickening of miniaturized hairs or regrowth after that? I read that Propecia can take up to 1 year to see it’s benefits, so what’s the deal here?

I do not believe I said Propecia will make your hair thicker or regrow new hair all the time. Medication works differently for each person, so I couldn’t guarantee that. You must understand that there is no magic cure for hair loss and all drugs have limitations. As such if you are not noticing growth, you may notice less hair falling out. Less hair falling out still means it is working.

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December 16, 2008

Take Finasteride and Dutasteride Together? – Balding Blog

Dear doctor
I have been using finasteride since 7 years and planning to use dutasteride now.Can I use both of them together in order not to lose what I had from finasteride ?

As dutasteride is used off label for treating hair loss, I rarely prescribe it for various legal reasons, but if your finasteride is not working to maintain your hair like it once was, then a trial of dutasteride might be a reasonable idea based upon information provided in this study. In that case, I would stop finasteride when using dutasteride. The mechanism of action is similar between the two medications, so benefits from finasteride should carry over if taking dutasteride. It’s not like when stopping minoxidil to switch to finasteride, where you will lose those minoxidil benefits (or vice versa), since the drugs work in entirely different ways.

Remember though, you do run a greater risk of significant side effects with dutasteride, like reduced sex drive and sexual performance issues. And the drug stays in your body for much, much longer than finasteride, so if you do see any of those side effects it’ll take quite some time for you to get rid of them. You should discuss your plans with your doctor.

December 16, 2008

Neuralgia and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

DR Rassman, can I first congratulate you for having the pre-eniment hair loss site on the internet. My problem is that I suffer from a Congenital Anomaly of the Cranio-cervical junction at the skull base, and this coupled with Occipital Neuralgia and Trigeminal Neuralgia is causing me intense pain all over the Head and Scalp. The pain is of a Stabbing, Burning, Lancinating and Compressive character, and at first I was just worried about the severe pain and it’s impact on my quality of Life.

However, Three years ago the pain got progressively worse, and my hair started falling out in clumps. It did not appear to follow the pattern of MPB, as the loss was sudden, and diffuse on the top and sides, and not affecting the back. Lately it has affected the back as well and I am left with very fine hair on the sides and back, and little hair on the top almost like DUPA. Despite attending my Doctor for the past 3 years, I have not even been referred to a Dermatologist, despite numerous requests on my part. Consequently , I am left at a complete loss at where to turn and am in great distress. Please can you help me, as my pain, combined with the hair loss is making life unbearable.

Many good hair transplant doctors are able to tackle problems like yours without offering a hair transplant. Many of them are dermatologists as well. This is where you might go for more advice.

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December 16, 2008

IGF-1, Capsaicin, and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Doctor. I have been reading on pubmed that IGF-1 has a strong influence on hair and follicular health and growth. I have read that research indicates IGF-1 stimulation has increased hair count and hair weight. Capsacin, applied topically in 0.01 percent concentration for 5 months, increased hair counts in over 60% of the participants. This information is as of 2008, so it is current. What are your thoughts on this subject and do you think the combination of 5% minoxidil and 0.01% capsacin would be of benefit? Thanks!

Pepper When I eat hot chili peppers they make my mouth burn, which is caused by the capsaicin in the pepper. Yet rubbing chili peppers on one’s head won’t stop testosterone from converting to DHT (and the DHT is what causes genetic hair loss in men). I would think it might make their hair fall out rather than regrow it, but I really do not have enough knowledge about this. If you send me the reference, it might help me research the quality of the study better.

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December 16, 2008

Arimidex and Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

Hi
First a little background of my problem. i am a male of 26 years of age. I was suffereing from Erectile Dysfunction. My urologist diagnosed me with hypogonadism. He prescribed me arimidex (estradiol blocker). My current dosage for this medicine is 0.5 mg per 2.5 days. My sexual life has improved a lot after taking arimidex. For the last few weeks I am facing tremendous hair loss. On searching internet about it, I found that one cause could be high DHT. It is possible with arimidex to have high DHT? arimidex increases testosterone and reduces estradiol. The extra testosterone in my blood converts to DHT.

I am looking for solution so that the extra DHT doesnot damage my hair follicles. I am also concerned that if I use some kind of DHT blocker, how it will effect my sex life. I am under impression that less DHT can cause havoc in sex life eventually even causing erectile dysfunction. I am not sure about this behaviour of less DHT. Please help me to understand whether if DHT levels directly affects the sex life?

Although erectile dysfunction (ED) can be induced by finasteride (a DHT blocker), it is very rare. With proper treatment for your hypogonadism, you might ask your doctor about the use of finasteride which may not interfere with your treatment for ED. Arimidex (anastrozole) itself can cause hair loss in some rare cases — see Drugs.com for more.

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December 15, 2008

Is Tea or Coffee Bad for Your Hair? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

It’s well documented that caffeine increases stress hormone levels in the human body i.e. cortisol, adrenaline, etc. My question is, is consuming products with caffeine like tea or coffee detrimental to our hair, as you’ve indicated before that stress can cause hair loss?

Also another random question — should we be asking questions here now or at the forum?

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This topic comes up every year or so. Depending on the flavor of the month tea/coffee/caffeine is both good and bad. Some studies say that excessive caffeine is bad, some home remedies include direct application of coffee or tea on the scalp. There’s even caffeine shampoo now. I don’t have a definitive answer to your question. To my knowledge, no peer-reviewed, published studies have been done that prove hair is effected by caffeine negatively. Consider this — caffeine is one of the most widely consumed substances in the world and the most common cause of hair loss is genetics (with or without coffee, tea, energy drinks, sodas, etc). Minor stresses shouldn’t cause hair loss, and certainly caffeine wouldn’t raise stress levels (unless you’re really overdoing it) to the point that you’d experience loss. Live your life in moderation.

BaldingForum allows other many people to see your questions and to add their input. If there are problems, as I read the forum, I will enter the process and give my opinion. So the forum offers two avenues for information: (1) the audience of readers, and (2) myself and Dr. Pak. The forum isn’t a replacement for BaldingBlog, so feel free to continue asking questions here… or there.

December 15, 2008

Treatment for Scarring Alopecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was diagnosed with scarring alopecia. It has caused a dramatic amount of hairloss mostly located on the back of my head. Is there ANYTHING I can do about it? Please help, I’ll do anything!!

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You need to discuss this with your doctor. Scarring alopecias (also known as cicatricial alopecia) have many causes and your doctor knows what is happening to you, certainly better than I could without seeing you or knowing more about your history. Unfortunately, I can not advise you over the Internet.

For more general information, you might want to check out the Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation frequently asked questions page.

December 15, 2008

What Percentage of Men Lose Hair After 5 Years on Finasteride? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have a question about the post from 12/5 3:35pm. You mention that some people see hair loss continuing again after 5 years on finasteride, while others have been taking finasteride for 10 years without any changes.

Could you quantify these a little, e.g. in your experience, for what % of people who take finasteride and it stops hair loss temporarily does it suddenly pick up again after 5 years, and, in your experience, what % of people who have been taking it for 10+ years did not have hair loss pick up again.

I thought that if Propecia works and successfully stops hair loss, a master plan would consider all the present hair as safe, and allocate potential hair transplants to other areas that have suffered hair loss prior to taking Propecia. In the light of this post, even if Propecia works for a given patient, it seems that despite Propecia, it is possible that hair loss does continue, so one should not deplete all possible donor hair on areas currently affected?

I do not have numeric data for you. Instead of focusing on statistics, try to understand the big picture. If I tell you that 1 percent will have no results, and you happen to be that 1%, it is 100% for you (in your particular case). My main point was that everybody is different and we all try to maximize our chances of keeping our hair. Propecia is one of those things we use to maximize the odds in your favor.

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December 15, 2008

Sertraline and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 19 year-old male living in Turkey. At age 13 I’ve been diagnosed with depersonalization / derealization disorder and was prescribed half a dose of a sertraline-based anti-anxiety drug (known as Lustral here) daily.

I used it for about two years and since then used it on and off for a few weekly periods, including for about two months when I was 17. I heard about antidepressants causing hair loss and in the periods that I used the drug, I noticed that my hair strands were generally thinner and weaker, but no balding visible. And when I ceased using it, my hair returned to its normal strength and thickness. So my question is that, do these antidepressants really cause irreversible harm to hair (thinning / balding) or is it always “back to normal” when medication ends?

Thanks Doc, I’m really curious about this.

Zoloft The medication you know as Lustral (sertraline) is also commonly known as Zoloft. And as you may know, many antidepressants (including Zoloft) can cause temporary hair loss, possibly even permanent loss in those genetically inclined to lose hair. I can’t say for sure whether the stop/start method you’re using with the medication will always continue the same hair loss/regrowth you’re seeing.

The consumer drug information for sertraline mentions hair loss as a side effect when overdosing, but I suppose it is possible to see loss with normal dosing as well (possibly even half dosing like you were prescribed), depending on how sensitive your body is to it.

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December 15, 2008

My Trichologist Said White Blood Cells Were Attacking My Follicles – Balding Blog

I recently went to a trichologist following some increased hair loss and he did a miniturization test and said I have very little miniturization of hair. I asked him how much – he said maybe 2 or 3%. Hence I have no genetic thinning/minturization.

However in addition to this the trichologist prescribed tyrosine (amino acid) for me. He noted there was redness/swelling around my hair follicles caused by white blood cells attacking the stem of the hairs (according to him). I noticed this redness when he was doing the miniturization microscopic test – the redness is not visible to the naked eye but quite evident around the follicles under microscope.

I want to know if this is the right course of action? What is this redness exactly? Is this what is causing my more than usual (but not excessive) shedding?

Additional info: I’m 23 and my dad is the only one of my relations with hair loss. He is probably a norwood V and lost most of his hair in his 30s.

I felt the need to bulletpoint four important points I want to make here:

Trichologists are not doctors. They do not prescribe medications or diagnose medical conditions.
I do not know of such test that can see redness and white blood cells attacking follicles (even under a microscope).
Tyrosine as you know is an amino acid, but it really has no role in balding. You don’t need a supplement as it is plentiful in meat, dairy, eggs as well as almonds, avocados, bananas, etc.
If you want a real medical opinion about skin redness, see a dermatologist.