Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Hair Loss InformationNot Hair Loss News – New Gene Test to Quickly Scan for Cancer Markers – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Cancer patients will routinely be offered genetic tests to help determine the best treatment, under plans being developed at an NHS hospital.

The technique looks for dangerous mutations on 100 genes covering many types of cancer, meaning one simple test could be suitable for most patients. Women with cancers of the breast and ovaries will be the first to benefit at the Royal Marsden Hospital, before the test is expanded to other cancers.

Within three years doctors aim to have a system in place that could be used by almost anyone with cancer anywhere in the country, at a cost of a few hundred pounds.

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Read the rest — Fast gene test for cancer patients

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Hair Loss InformationI Have One Testicle, so Is Finasteride Still an Option to Treat My Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi doctors,
I’m 30 years old and i lost one testicle when i was 18. So now i thinking about my options to stop hair loss. Is finasteride for me? I know about some side effects of fin and i’m worried, but with only one testicle is it still safe for me to start it? Or am i in for more dangers than others?

Anyway i will definitely talk about it with my urologist before i start (if i start), just looking for more opinions. thank you

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Finasteride is likely still an option for you, though your prescribing doctor will have to make the call on that. I don’t know what your hair loss situation looks like. You certainly aren’t automatically ruled out from taking Propecia (finasteride 1mg) because of your one testicle, as the safety of the medication has nothing to do with the number of testicles you have.

I would schedule that urologist appointment to at least get some more advice. If you are concerned about testosterone or other hormone production from the testicles, I would guess that your one testicle puts out as much testosterone as two testicles to compensate.

If you are concerned about side effect potential from finasteride, your risk isn’t any higher or lower than the rest of the population (less than 2% will experience some side effects). I’ve written much about the side effects before over the years.

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Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Interview with a Young Woman Battling Trichotillomania – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

Trichotillomania, an impulse control disorder that causes sufferers to compulsively pull out their own hair and can often lead to both noticeable hair loss and social anxiety, affects between two to five percent of Americans. One sufferer, Valerie Vanone, joined HuffPost Live recently to share her story of battling trichotillomania, which began at age 12 and eventually forced her to leave school in order to seek treatment.

Vanone, who began pulling out her eyelashes as a pre-teen before escalating to pulling hair directly from her scalp, didn’t seek help until she was 24 years old, she told host Nancy Redd.

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Read the rest — Trichotillomania, Hair-Pulling Disorder, Caused Me To Leave School

I’ve embedded the video interview below:


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Hair Loss InformationHaving Sex After a Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Can you have sex after a hair transplant? Just wondering!

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I tell my patients that they can have sex after a hair transplant and use sound judgement. You can also exercise after a hair transplant, but must also use sound judgement. In general, we ask patients to take it easy for the first two weeks…. but some patients who have very active lifestyles will do light exercises even after 2-3 days and be fine.

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Hair Loss InformationStudy – Isolated Crown Balding and the Risk of Prostate Cancer – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the abstract:

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a genetically determined skin condition strongly age dependent and androgens are assumed to play an important role in its development. A link between AGA and prostate cancer has been hypothesized because of their similar risk factors.

We sought to systematically review the evidence available on the association between AGA and risk of prostate cancer.

We searched the electronic databases MEDLINE and Cochrane for studies examining the association between AGA and risk of prostate cancer. We estimated pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals. We also analyzed the OR for individual hair loss patterns, as defined by the Hamilton scale.

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Read the rest — Androgenetic alopecia and risk of prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Although many authors have investigated a possible association between androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and prostate cancer, there is not yet a definitive answer. Patients with any pattern genetic balding did not have an increased risk of prostate cancer, but patients with just vertex pattern AGA (crown balding without balding in other areas) had a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer versus control subjects. Vertex pattern AGA may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.

In another publication, there was a higher risk of heart disease in patients with pure crown balding.

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I’ve Lost Hair Since Starting Keppra (Epilepsy Medication) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female)
I have lost my natural curl and half the amount of hair that I had as a side effect of Keppra. I would like to know since I have taken myself off it, will my hair grow back with the natural curl that I lost?

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Hair loss is a known rare side effect of Keppra (levetiracetam), but I can’t say for sure if your hair will regrow now that you’ve taken yourself off of it. You’d have to wait out about a year to see if it regrows.

You were taking Keppra for an important medical reason (like seizures), and you should not be taking yourself off of medications without speaking to your doctor. I can’t even say for sure if Keppra was the cause of your hair loss.

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In the News – Photographer’s Images of Alopecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

It’s a hair loss condition that often robs sufferers of their self-esteem and confidence. Now a photographer has taken this stunning gallery of images of people with alopecia (many with alopecia areata) to raise awareness about the condition.

Daniel Regan, 28, said he wanted to tackle an issue that is often ignored by the public.

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See the gallery — Photographer’s stunning images of alopecia sufferers as part of project to create awareness about the condition

The photographer said, “I hope that my images illustrated the drastic change that sufferers experience in their body image and place pressure on those in the right positions to pay further attention to this devastating condition.”

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My Doctor Prescribed Me Finasteride and Dutasteride to Take At the Same Time – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor Rassman, I have a question, I know med advice is not given on the internet, but all I need is just an expert opinion from someone like yourself who is an expert in hairloss industry.

I am 28 years old male in perfect health. No drinking or smoking at all. I have been on brand propecia 1mg for 2 years exactly as prescribed by my dermatologist. in the 2 years I have not got the best results, hair looks almost the same as pre treatment with propecia, but doctor said looks like I am slightly below baseline. so he said for me to keep taking propecia 1mg daily because it has slowed the rate down, I have not experienced any side affects at all on propecia.

Since I have not experienced any side affects from finasteride, my dermatologist also wrote me a prescription for avodart 0.5 mg. he told me avodart is a stronger dht blocker and told me to use it ever other day at the 0.5 mg level. He suggested I still take the 1mg finasteride daily, but just use avodart 0.5mg every other day, basically 4 times a week. He told me not to drop finasteride as maybe I might experience a loss of hair that finasteride was hanging on to. I asked if this was safe and he said yes, and not to worry. Basically in your opinion do you have any positive results from patients that use avodart? do you think its better for hairloss?

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I really do not know the details about you. I generally think that if Propecia (finasteride) is working, then just keep to it. If your hair looks the same today as when you started Propecia 2 years ago, that sounds like it’s working just fine. Not everyone will see substantial regrowth, and just keeping the hair loss at bay would mean the medication is successful.

Avodart (dutasteride) added to the Propecia routine makes no sense to me, as both medications work in similar ways. I’ve prescribed dutasteride in rare cases for patients that saw results from Propecia dissipate over the years… but in your case, it sounds like the Propecia is working just fine. I have no idea why your doctor would prescribe both drugs to you.

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Should I Wipe The Scalp Oil Off My Balding Areas? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman

Hi, Great blog this! I have noticed that the balding areas of the crown and front are very oily/ greasy. If I take a tissue and gently wipe it, the tissue comes off with grease. Could this be blocking the hair follicles and thereby increasing hair loss? I play sports actively so I wash my head twice a day.

Would you suggest wiping the greasy areas with a tissue during the day if it helps the hair in any way?

Thanks.

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Greasy areas on your scalp have nothing to do with hair loss. If you want to wipe the grease off or use any products, go ahead, but it will not affect your hair. I don’t have any particular suggestions. Your hair will fall out no matter what you do over time, because you likely have genetic balding. If you are concerned about hair loss, you should see a doctor to see if medication may be an option for you.