Month: April 2012

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Any News of the Avodart Clinical Trials? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

doctor rassman
whatever happened to the fda trials with avodart? we all know avodart is more effective but when will it be cleared by the fda for hair loss? are their trials still going?

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We know that dutasteride (Avodart) works when used to treating genetic hair loss. Some reports suggest that it may work even better, but the safety issues in young men, the sexual side effects and other side effects, and the long term issues related to sterility are not known.

The last I remember, there was a Korean study being done… so I looked up the ClinicalTrials.gov site and found this post about recruiting 900 Korean men for a dutasteride post-marketing study by GlaxoSmithKline (makers of Avodart). It was updated just a couple of weeks ago, though I’m not sure which part was updated, and appears to be concluding in July 2013 — AVODART Alopecia Post-marketing Surveillance (PMS).

The FDA will weigh out the safety issues before any application for use in hair loss is approved. So at this point, we’re still in wait-and-see mode.

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Hair Loss InformationMy Daughter Has Alopecia Areata and High Fever – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My daughter was diagnosed with Alopecia areata 2 months ago just recently the bold spots that looked like the size of a quarter are becoming bigger and bigger and its only in the back . I took her into the emergency room 4 days ago due to her high fever at 105 104 and she’s been having a recurrent fever every other day our the whole day just observing her.

I’ve been with 3 different pediatricians and none if them can answer me why? Where do I have to go to get answers? ; Who do I have go with? Is it an internal capability? Why the fever? Why the Vomiting? I just need to have some kind of answer

thank you.

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I understand that you have a sick daughter who needs medical attention, but I am a hair transplant surgeon. Alopecia areata is not likely related to your daughter’s overall problem, which sounds serious. Vomiting is related to possible treatments that she might’ve been given for the alopecia areata, but I have no idea if she was treated with anything.

A good internist or pediatrician (if she is under 16 years old) is the doctor you might consider consulting. The doctors you have seen may not have a definitive diagnosis, but they should be able to assess and treat your daughter and answer your immediate questions.

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Hair Loss InformationWill I Eventually Have My Father’s Pattern If I See Some Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr.

Question: When hair loss is hereditary, is it always the same type of hair loss pattern? I believe my father suffered a Type V hair loss, and my hair loss has been at a Type 3A for about 4 years now. Will my loss eventually become a Type V over time?

-Thanks!

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I do not know your age, I have not examined you for miniaturization or bulk analysis, and I essentially know nothing about you other than a connection to hair loss by one side of your family (father). As you know, there is a 50/50% chance of getting his pattern if we blindly guess using available statistics.

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Hair Loss InformationI’m 39 Years Old and Norwood 1 – Could I Still Develop Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman:

I am 39-years-old, and while there’s no advanced balding in my family tree, the Norwood 3v pattern is very common, slightly more so on my mother’s side. As a result, I’ve been very vigilant through the years for even the slightest signs of hair loss.

Even still, I recently visited a hair loss specialist who told me that I am still a Norwood 1. She took pictures of my scalp and analyzed the hair follicles, and informed me that the hairs seem uniformly thick and there’s no significant miniaturization.

What are the chances that I could still develop a Norwood 3v pattern showing at this point?

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It would be highly unlikely that you inherited any balding if it has not shown at your present age, your hair is thick without miniaturization, and there is no frontal recession.

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Why Would Prince William Be a Surgical Candidate? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Thank you for running a great site. I’ve found it immensely helpful in learning about this condition.

My question is – earlier last summer, you mentioned that Prince William would likely be a good candidate for a hair restoration procedure. I am curious though why that is the case. I had always been under the assumption that a young man with an aggressive pattern like the Prince would not be a candidate. Am I mistaken? If so, what particularly sets someone like Prince William apart? Is it the fact that he is a diffuse thinner rather than a receder?

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Prince WilliamIn general if a person has male pattern baldness (like Prince William) and has good donor hair and scalp laxity, they WANT and DESIRE a change, and they have REALISTIC expectations of what is possible, they can be a candidate for a hair transplant surgery.

I have never met Prince William and my answers were just based on the reader’s hypothetical questions. Perhaps Prince William does not want a hair transplant surgery and is fine with his hair and the possibilities of eventually going completely bald in the Norwood class 6 pattern. I do not know if he has (a) fine, medium, or coarse hair, or (b) what his donor supply looks like or how it would measures out if I checked his hair density in the donor area.

From his overall pattern, I would suspect that he might benefit from Propecia (finasteride) based upon his age and overall pattern. Many class 6 patterned individuals who are young and go on this drug, may notice increased coverage, reflecting the thickening of the existing hair shafts or even new hair growth.

Finally based on pictures alone, I do not think he has a disease like DUPA, as it appears that he has good hair on the sides and back of his head.

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Am I Losing Grafts 4 Months After My Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello
i had a FUE transplant last december, everything seems ok, but sometimes i feel a little itchy spot and when i scratch it, a hair (seems like it is one of the transplanted ones) comes out of the scalp attached to a bit of something looking like hard sebum, almost looking like when cleaning a black head blemish or an ingrowing hair. Is that normal? is that the follicle coming out? if so does this mean that i’ve lost one of the transplanted hairs?

thanks

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These are really questions for your doctor. If you pick (or vigorously scratch) at your hair, you run the risk of losing the hair. Picking causes hair loss, infection and associated skin problems. For hair transplant patients, they should always have their doctor check out what is going on with their head.

I would doubt that you’re losing grafts at four months after your surgery, but I couldn’t tell you what is causing the itch. Maybe it is an infection, but this is clearly not something for an Internet-based diagnosis. Please call your doctor for a follow-up exam.

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Switching From Propecia to Finpecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman,

Thank you for your very informative blog. I have been on Propecia for nearly three years with good results. For cost reasons I am thinking of getting Finpecia when I am next in India. Do you believe switching from Propecia to Finpecia would have any effects for a good responder like me? I will only do it if the transition can be seamless.

Many Thanks

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Assuming Finpecia is 1mg finasteride, I do not expect there to be an issue. Propecia is just the brand name for 1mg finasteride, and the generic form is sold by a variety of different names outside of the US (where it is not legally available until late 2013 due to patent laws).

There might be some differences in the manufacturing process, but chemically Finpecia (made by Cipla) is the same as Propecia (made by Merck).

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My Donor Area is Thin, So Can I Have My Entire Beard Transplanted to the Scalp? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,

I’m a 25-year-old male and I’ve been thinning since the age of 20, and I believe I might have stabilized the hair loss process as I’m taking medication and substances to stop the hair loss.

I’d like however to undergo a hair transplant, especially at the front of the scalp. The bad news in my case though is that my donor area is also thinning out, which means that perhaps 1500 grafts can be harvested.

My question to you is if it’s possible to harvest grafts from other parts of the body, say like the beard, arm pit hair and pubic hair, also the hair between the buttocks? Let’s throw in arm, chest and leg hair while we’re at it. Is it possible to transplant hairs from these areas to the scalp?

I wouldn’t mind if my ENTIRE beard was to be transplanted, because I have sebhorroeic dermatitis and my beard is just aggravating that condition. Is it possible to transplant the ENTIRE beard?

Grateful for a reply

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I really can not answer your question properly. First, I have not examined you so I can not confirm what you are reporting.

Second, if you are losing your donor hair, then you probably have some condition that is not genetic patterned balding. Do you have diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA)? It’s not usual to have the entire scalp thinning like you described.

Third, a hodgepodge of hair transplants from different parts of the body may give you a freaky, unnatural look and therefore, I wouldn’t be interested in doing a surgery like that. The hair from the beard is different than the underarms, the chest, the leg and so on. Body hair in general is different from scalp hair, as I’ve written about before (see here). Hypothetically speaking, transplanting the entire beard would leave facial scarring that wouldn’t be in your best interest.

Anything is possible and any hair can be moved from one area to another, but how it will look in the end is another entirely different matter.

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Clobetasol and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female)
I have used clobetasol off and on for years. I have never been advised that this med can thin the skin or cause hair loss. Just about 1 yr ago my scalp psoriasis became quite aggressive and I spent every evening slathering my scalp with the med. My hair thinned to about 1/2 of its normal thickness. Is it possible to somehow regrow the hair that I have lost?

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Clobetasol is a powerful topical steroid that can thin the skin, thin the hair, and produce a variety of systemic problems from steroid overdose. Withdrawal from this medication can be a problem and you may need to be managed by a good doctor for the withdrawal process.

With respect to hair growth, if it does not regrow within one year, it will probably never grow back.