Article on scalp blood flow has it wrong

The authors show that the blood flow in the scalp with less hair is less than with more hair. This is because the hair requires a great deal of blood because it has a high metabolic rate. The body pumps blood to the scalp to meet the need to support the high metabolic hair organ system. The reduced blood flow, long held as the cause of hair loss, has never been proven. This is an issue of cause and effect, less hair produces less blood supply not the other way around.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-202X(89)90189-9 Get rights and content

Under an Elsevier user license

open archive

Abstract

The subcutaneous blood flow (SBF) was measured by the ¹³³Xe washout method in the scalp of 14 patients with early male pattern baldness. Control experiments were performed in 14 normal haired men matched for age.

The SBF in the scalp of the normal individuals was about 10 times higher than previously reported SBF values in other anatomical regions. In patients with early male pattern baldness, SBF was 2.6 times lower than the values found in the normal individuals (13.7 ±9.6 vs 35.7 ±10.5 ml/100 g/min^?1). This difference was statistically significant (p ? 0.001). A reduced nutritive blood flow to the hair follicles might be a significant event in the pathogenesis of early male pattern baldness.

2020-04-10 16:32:462020-04-19 09:35:58Article on scalp blood flow has it wrong

Subcutaneous blood flow in early male pattern baldness

Abstract

Leave a Reply Cancel reply