Month: October 2012

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Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Actress Anna Kendrick Reveals that Stress Has Caused Her Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Anna Kendrick‘Twilight’ actress Anna Kendrick is used to spending a lot of time in the public eye alongside her co-stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, but nothing could prepare her for the stress that she felt when she was nomination for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her part in ‘Up In The Air’.

The actress was talking on The Late Show With David Letterman when she revealed that the stress built so much that she started to lose her hair.

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Read the rest — ‘Twilight’ Star Reveals Hair Loss Over Awards Stress

Stress can cause hair loss, and even celebrities aren’t immune.

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Hair Loss InformationShould I Not Take Finasteride If I Have a Long Family History of Cancer? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr. Rassman,

My doctor has recommended Finasteride for my hair loss (28, Male, NW 2-3-ish, rapidly receding hairline and rampant loss). However, I recently learnt that finasteride causes breast cancer and very aggressive forms of prostate cancer which are typically beyond treatment, and various other forms of cancer.

Moreover, this is my central cause of worry: Many members of my family have expired due to cancer. My maternal grandmother, my mother’s twin sister, and my father (hodgkin’s disease). In my case, does Finasteride increase the likelihood of me developing some form of cancer? Or am I no different from regular candidates whose family history isn’t markedly carcinogenic like mine?

I understand that you are in no position to provide any subjective information pertaining to my particular case, without having see or diagnosed me, so please treat this as a general question.

In your experience, do you feel Finasteride would be extremely dangerous and significantly increase the likelihood for developing cancer in balding-folks whose family history is carcinogenic?

Thanks

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Step back and think about what you just asked me. Why would a doctor prescribe a “dangerous” or “cancer causing” medication to you? Finasteride does not cause cancer and is not a “dangerous” medication. There are studies that suggest that Propecia (finasteride) decreases prostate cancer. There are also confounding studies that suggest for those men who end up with prostate cancer, the cancer may be more aggressive. This does not mean it causes cancer. I’ve written about this many times before, including here, here, and here.

I do not know of any study that suggests finasteride causes breast cancer. Breast cancer in men is rare and it has been reported in men who take finasteride, but the causality is not clear.

In the end, I strongly urge you to speak to your doctor about these issues and your medical and family history.

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Hair Loss InformationNew Study – Finasteride vs Dutasteride Safety and Efficacy in Patients with BPH – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the study abstract published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice:

Objective: We evaluated 5-year safety, efficacy and prostate volume data from BPH patients treated with finasteride or dutasteride. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 378 consecutive men treated with 5α-reductase inhibitor monotherapy between January 2004 and September 2009 (197 on finasteride and 211 on dutasteride) in a single clinic was performed.

Conclusions: In this retrospective analysis of data from consecutive patients treated at a single clinic, both finasteride and dutasteride were effective therapies for the management of lower urinary tract symptoms. However, dutasteride resulted in significantly more sexual side effects and breast complications than finasteride.

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Read the full abstract — A 5-year retrospective analysis of 5α-reductase inhibitors in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: finasteride has comparable urinary symptom efficacy and prostate volume reduction, but less sexual side effects and breast complications than dutasteride.

This study contained 378 men with the mean age of 58.7 years old, and the conclusion of the study (see above) is one of the reasons why we do not prescribe dutasteride off-label. Yes, this is a study of men with prostate issues and the dose is most likely different for treating hair loss… but the side effect risks and dosage for using dutasteride as a hair loss treatment are still unclear.

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Hair Loss InformationI’m 19 and Have Been on Propecia for a Year – Should I Be Worried About Sterility? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 19 yr old male taking Propecia for about a year with great results. I have had minimal, if any side effects, though I have read some aritcles about people complaining that the drug can cause sterility. I am hoping to have a family someday and was wondering if you believe any of these claims about the drug. Thanks

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I do not believe Propecia causes sterility. If you are having side effects (whatever it may be), please tell your doctor. If you are concerned, you can ask your doctor for a test to measure your sperm count to set your mind at ease — or at least have a baseline measurement.

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Hair Loss InformationFemale Hair Loss Specialist in France or Switzerland? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Thank you for your website, which is the best source of information I have seen. My twenty-four year old daughter has been losing her hair severely for six years and has been seeing doctors and trying various ways to stop hair loss, without success. Can you please refer her to a doctor either in France or Switzerland?

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I don’t have any personal doctor recommendations in France or Switzerland, but you can find doctors in your area by using the physician search at ISHRS.org.

Be sure to research any doctor you’re interested in, but you should also know that treating female hair loss can be quite difficult. I wish your daughter the best.

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Hair Loss InformationFollow-Up: Patient Results – Amazing Change in 9 Months – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

We received a few comments and a bunch of emails from people with questions about the patient results we posted late last week, so I wanted to provide some follow-up info. Here’s a before/after (2781 grafts):

 

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The hairlines are always chosen by the patient in conjunction with the doctor performing the surgery. In this particular patient, I was the surgeon and we bonded well. His hairline was chosen to reflect my own individual hairline, a mature hairline in the truest sense of the meaning. I would put the hairline anywhere he chose, provided that it was a reasonable placement. In this case, the hairline was placed one fingerbreadth above the highest wrinkle of his furrowed brow. This man is in his 50s, but even if he was 25 years old this would not be an unreasonable hairline location. Hairlines should always stand the test of time.

Also, the fact that no one noticed the hair grow out is important. It is like watching grass grow — you never see it grow, but you see the change when you look back on the brown dirt where you placed the grass seeds. Hair is no different.

His results are typical for individuals with hair that is medium coarse character. He had no problem showing off his results, because he knew that he would be a good educational example for us. When he came to one of our Open House events prior to his surgery, he met with many patients who had results like he had, so a result like this was his expectation. Those expectations were clearly met.

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Hair Loss InformationI’m 18 and My Crown is Thinning, but My Hairline is Totally Fine – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

First of all I would like to thank all the contributors to this site which has been really informative and has helped me to understand baldness better. However, I am still unsure about my own balding. Firstly I am an 18 year old male and I have noticed that my hair has been thinning from the crown since I turned 17 or so. What perplexes me is that my hair line is quite consistent, the thinning is occurring in the crown area only.

So I have two questions. What Norwood pattern would this qualify as since the hair line is still consistent? And is it possible that perhaps this is unnatural balding? My barber suggested that my hair loss might be from excessive dandruff that has been present for quite a while but haven’t been able to quite cure despite my best efforts. I should also note that my father and paternal grand-father are both bald especially my father who at the age of 41 has very little hair left.

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If you see a doctor, you can get a definitive diagnosis concerning if you are balding or not. Balding men will have miniaturization of hair and reduced bulk measurements, so the diagnosis is scientific as well as clinical. Crown balding with a strong hairline isn’t “unnatural”, and dandruff does not cause hair loss like your barber suggested.

The good news is that the drug Propecia (finasteride) works well in crown balding in young men, so if the diagnosis is made you will most likely reverse the hair loss process in the crown.

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Hair Loss InformationHair Loss and Caleb Followill (Singer from Kings of Leon) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Caleb FollowillCaleb Followill – the lead singer of popular band ‘Kings of Leon’ is showing signs of balding. He is a norwood 2.5, maybe even a norwood 3. Now, I’m not sure if you know this, but Kings of Leon consists of 3 brothers and 1 cousin. Caleb is the *only* one showing any signs of balding, and he isn’t even the oldest of the brothers (yes he is one of the brothers, not the cousin). Is it possible the rest of the family members escaped the balding gene? Or could they have had medical intervention to tackle balding?

There is also an interesting story of Caleb commenting on his baldness here.

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Anything is possible, I suppose. He might be the unlucky one that has the balding gene, and his brothers were spared. Perhaps the rest of the family is taking medication and he isn’t. Maybe he does feel added stress, which has accelerated his genetic hair loss.

There’s no way for me to know with absolute certainty why the one brother is losing hair and the rest of the siblings aren’t, but I’d say it is just the genetic cards he was dealt.

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Hair Loss InformationCould Pregnenolone Help with Finasteride Mood Changes? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

So I have been using finasteride for 3 months now. Had two questions

1) Firstly I have had no side effects, compared to the horror stories on the net. So far so good. However I have noticed a slight alteration in mood maybe. Its not like I feel depressed or anything, but definitely a little more tired and groggy, and slight changes in sleep patterns. I am quite sure it is a side effect of finasteride since I am not going through any great stressful time or anything. I know people are quick to blame this drug for everything. Not my agenda here. But definitely have noticed something. Nothing too alarming though.

I have read many forums and quite some people have suggested to take a very small dose of PREGNENOLONE alongside finasteride. I was wondering if you know anything about this combination or if it could help with mood disturbances. I know you will ask me to consult my prescribing doctor which I will do so, but was wondering what your thoughts are on this combination.

2) Also I take 5MG cut into quarters (generic). Your website mentions not to do so, yet many patients have been advised to do so, am I missing something here. I have no problem cutting the pill either (use a pill cutter) .. but the quarter is very small…I usually do get equal parts..but am wondering if I am indeed obtaining between 1-1.25 daily?? Some say the compound is not equally distributed, some say it is homogenized?? so just confused regarding this matter as well, and would appreciate your thoughts

thanks.

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Pregnenolone is a steroid and not recommended for balding men. Moreover, steroids can also drastically alter mood as a side effect. I don’t know about the combo specifically, but I wouldn’t recommend it particularly because pregnenolone could lead to more hair loss. If you are having side effects from finasteride, then you should go back to the doctor who prescribed it to you.

Cutting 5mg finasteride into quarters should be as effective as 1mg taken daily. People cut it into quarters for practicality since cutting it in five equal pieces would be difficult. The generic should be homogenized (see here).

Where does this site say to not cut the pill? There’s a lot of info on this site, but I don’t remember ever suggesting that a cut 5mg pill is something that should be avoided. For years now I’ve been recommending splitting the 5mg generic pill for those patients that wish to save some money. You just need to find a doctor that will prescribe the 5mg pill (prostate medication) with instructions to cut it.