Dr. William Rassman – Page 1536

December 10, 2007

Taking Propecia Before Completing Puberty – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

can mpb or aga occur during puberty, opposed to after its completion? if so, should one think twice about taking propecia if they are not sure they have fully completed puberty?

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Male pattern baldness (MPB) or androgenic alopecia (AGA) can start as early as puberty, when your hormones are at a flux. I would generally recommend Propecia (finasteride 1mg) for men who have completed puberty in their late teens. I am not aware of any studies on Propecia with respect to its effects on men still undergoing puberty, but I would suspect it might slow down or even block the appearance of puberty.

December 10, 2007

Today Show Tells How Women Can Stop Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Every bit of information educates the public. Interesting reading.

From the article —

We normally have, on average, 100,000 hairs on our scalp. And as evinced by our changing hair lengths, roots and visits to our hairdressers, those hairs grow; in fact, 90 percent of our hair is actively growing at any given time. Hair is the second fastest growing tissue in our body after (I’d love for you to guess) … bone marrow.

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Read the full article by Dr. Judith Reichman: Today – What women can do to stop hair loss

December 10, 2007

Are Steroid Shots in the Scalp to Treat Occipital Neuralgia Causing Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a physician assistant and my 66 y/o mother called me yesterday about hair loss. My mom was diagnosed with occipital neuralgia and has given multiple steroid injections under the scalp into the muscles and nerve sheaths. About 2 months ago her hair started to thin. Now it is falling out with just movement. She does not have a predisposition to balding. Both her parents passed away with full heads of hair. I have told her to stop doing the shots, but I wanted to see if this is possible a cause to her hair loss and if so is it permanent. Thank you for your help.

Steroids injections into the scalp can cause hair loss in the vicinity of the shots. Focal balding is common. As far as generalized hair loss, yes, steroids can cause that as well (assuming the systemic levels of drugs are achieved). Never assume a simple cause as she may have another cause of hair loss (much of it is discussed in various postings on this site). She should be checked out medically, so be sure that there is no underlying medical condition present.

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December 10, 2007

Show Me Evidence that Masturbation and Hair Loss Aren’t Linked! – Balding Blog

You seem pretty sure that no amount of ejaculation can contribute to hair loss. Where is your evidence?

I’m merely saying this because I know for a fact that my bald spot is a direct result of my excessive masturbation. Seeing that I’m only 19 and that the hair loss completely stopped after I stopped masturbating I’d say I have plenty of evidence at least for myself.

Testosterone is converted to DHT through frequent ejaculations…therefore masturbation does in fact contribute to baldness. I’m only 19 and after two years of masturbating 5-7 times a day I already have a huge bald spot on my head so don’t give me any bulls..t and don’t contribute to the suffering of others just because you don’t want your precious masturbation to be seen for what it really is -A dangerous addiction.

In addition masturbating does not relieve sexual urges, it merely feeds them. I haven’t masturbated or had sex for 5 months now and I don’t miss it.

You are a pitiful human being and I hope that one day you realize how big of a mistake you are making right now. You are being extremely selfish and you will have to answer for your actions just like the rest of us.

What can I say? Sexual addictions are addictions. I can not prove a connection between masturbation and hair loss… I just know it in my gut. There is no doubt that people who take high doses of testosterone can become overly sexually obsessed. That is how our biology works. You are correct, testosterone does cause hair loss largely when it is converted to DHT. I would have to do a study isolating hundreds of men who have the balding gene, then get accurate information about the frequency of their masturbation and separate the groups so that the balding would be considered. Then it would have to be statistically significant according to a statistician. I don’t know of anyone willing or driven to do this study scientifically. As this is your focused question, why not resolve the issue with your own study and report it back to me? I will post it if it is a serious study.

I gather from your email that you are also angry and have focused that anger on me. Excess testosterone has been known to cause aggressive behavior in some men. You may have a hormonal problem or an addictive one. In any event, your anger is misplaced. I do wish you well.

December 7, 2007

Hair Loss InformationCutis Verticis Gyrata and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a condition that is called ‘cutis verticis gyrata’ where the scalp grows ridges or abnormal lines on the surface. I have had this condition for some time, but have never been concerned before because I have hair that covers the ridges in my head. I’m in the beginning stages of MPB, and have been taking propecia for about a month. I don’t know if my hair loss will ever be extensive enough to show the condition of my scalp, but it causes great concern because I do not want this to happen. I am 32 years old. Have you ever dealt with this issue before? I have read a little on the internet to try to see what people have done with this, but there is not much out there about it. I have read that it has been treated with scalp reduction, which sounds reasonable, but then what? Any ideas?

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Cutis Verticis Gyrata After receiving your email, I wrote to a group of well-respected doctors to inquire about experience in this area, and the general consensus was that this should not be treated surgically. Most of the doctors I wrote to were dermatologists who may have an aversion to scalp reductions in this situation. You need to be evaluated by a surgeon, perhaps a very specialized plastic surgeon who has experience doing this surgery in a patient with your diagnosis. Logically, scalp reductions should work, but I wouldn’t recommend that you be the first patient to attempt surgery to correct this condition.

If you are concerned about balding (which might make the appearance more detectable) then I strongly suggest a miniaturization study to see what degree of hair is at risk of falling out, followed up by a Master Plan. If I was your doctor, I would explore your options after you became my patient, but I simply cannot give you an in-depth answer as I have not examined your scalp or your hair.

Image from DermAtlas

December 7, 2007

Better Diagnosis for Prostate Cancer – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

The diagnosis for prostate cancer is a hit or miss process based upon elevated blood tests for PSA and blind needle biopsies, which are done over and over again until a diagnosis is in hand. This announcement is an alternative way of making the diagnosis with a new diagnostic tool that men need to know about.

So while this isn’t hair related, it is important for men to know about. From the article –

Presently, a new case of Prostate cancer is diagnosed every 3 minutes while 90 men die from prostate cancer every day. Prostate Biopsy, the “gold standard” for finding cancer of the prostate is associated with trauma, infection, bleeding and sampling bias. National statistics show that 10 men must undergo an ultrasound and biopsy to find 2-3 cancers. Translated another way, 7-8 men must undergo a procedure that is unnecessary as documented by a negative biopsy.

Read the full pres release: New Prostate Cancer Technology Saving Lives

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December 7, 2007

I Have Thin Hair Around All Around the Sides – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I started loosing lots of hair right after i turned 21, i’m a male 26 now, some hair has to be growing back because in all these 5 years after all the hair i saw i lost i still have hair, my hairline is intact but i have thin hair ALL AROUND including the sides. What i noticed the most is that i wash my hair daily, but in the morning my scalp is very oily and greasy same as my hair, very itchy too. I can take with my nails the build up thats on my scalp, its oily and kind of yellow colored. I can see when i look at the hair shaft that falls out that there is always this kind of flake or build up attached to the end of it (coming from the scalp). When i pull out hair from my head a lot of hair falls out with the same description. For the itching and burning sensation and the very oily scalp i’m pretty sure it has something to do directly with all the hair lost. I used and try all shampos like t-gel. nizoral , ect, making it worst, more flakes and more irrtitation. What tipe of hair loss do you think i’m suffering or what kind of scalp problem do you think it is???

Unfortunately, I can’t really give you a great answer to your question without examining you. Many people write to me with partial descriptions of things that they recognize, but they often do not understand what they are seeing. A trained eye from a good dermatologist will tell you what you are experiencing. There is no simple way to go on the internet and solve even many of the simple problems.

December 7, 2007

In the News — Young Girl Went Bald After Getting Braids – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Braids can cause hair loss from the traction that is produced by the tight pulling. Unfortunately, this 8 year old girl experienced a horrible scenario from her new hairstyle.

From the article –

Jodie, eight, pestered her mum for the £30 style after seeing a stall offering the service. But days after arriving home her locks started to fall out because the braids had been wound too tight, killing her hair follicles.

Read the full article: Hols hair braids made me bald

Image from The Sun

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December 7, 2007

My Hair Regrew with Propecia and the LaserComb – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello.

This is MY video: YouTube – Hair Grew Back with Propecia, Laser Comb, and Rogaine foam

My hair DID regrow using Propecia and the laser comb MAY have helped thicken the existing hairs. I don’t even care if anybody buys the laser comb, in fact, I often tell them not to buy one. My video is 100% real and I would never mislead anyone into thinking something that wasn’t true.

Both Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Bauman believe the laser comb works to some degree. It’s fine to disagree with them, but please understand that my video is 100% real and true. I’m an advocate for hair loss sufferers, I would never send them to buy a product that doesn’t work to some degree.

I have been on the radio show “The Bald Truth” debating with the Hairmax company against their claims! I say it doesn’t work anywhere near what they claim. I told them the product was disappointing, but may have thickened my existing high quality hairs. I’m even open to the suggestion that it was a placebo effect.

Bottom line…my video is real.

Thanks, I think you’re honest and have the same goal as me…….educate patients!

Good for you! Thanks for sharing this. You do agree that the results are sometimes disappointing compared to the advertisement, but I have seen many patients achieving similar results with Propecia alone, particularly in men under 27 years old.

I can’t display the video on this page since he’s disabled the ability to embed the video, but it can be seen by going to YouTube.

December 6, 2007

Scalp Pimples Weeks After Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I had 2200 grafts in the front. About 6 weeks later, I noticed pimples breaking out on my head. I went back to my doctor and he put me on an antibiotic which helped for a week and then when I went off the antibiotic, the pimples came back. What is happening to me? Will this kill off the transplants?

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After a hair transplant, spicules of hair are left behind after the grafts have shed. These spicules of hair can be like a foreign body and cause cystic reactions. This process is usually self-limiting and with warm soaks, will disappear over the next month or so. I believe that every person has these spicules in the recipient area, but only a limited number of patients have these type of reactions. The differential diagnosis is important here, namely distinguishing it from folliculitis, which can endanger the growth of the grafts.

You may have heard about MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and if this should occur, a culture of these pimples are important to determine the correct treatment modality. There can be iatrogenic (doctor induced) causes where during the placing process the staff ‘piggyback’ one graft on top of another. This is often due to poor quality control processes and if the doctor sees this often, then the doctor may have a problem with his office staff. In less experienced hands, this is an iatrogenic problem so a good solid surgical team with good quality control systems in place will guarantee that this will not happen to you.

If properly treated, these sores will not cause hair loss. Sometimes local drainage with a needle is needed, but usually they will spontaneously drain on their own with frequent warm compresses.