Hair Diseases – Page 39

November 21, 2006

What is Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA)? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello!
I have seen many dicussions related to Diffuse Alopecia or DUPA, but I have never understood the causes. Is it genetic hair loss expressed in a diffuse pattern, or is it a kind of disease caused from something else?

Thanks a lot for your time!

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Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) is a condition where the hair has miniaturization throughout the scalp without a particular pattern to it. Women who have genetic hair loss have something that acts and looks like the male patient with DUPA. It is generally believed that in men, DUPA is genetic and hormonal. At times, it will respond to Propecia (finasteride 1mg) in slowing down its advancement and in about half of male patients it does get better (slightly) with Propecia.

November 17, 2006

Hair Loss InformationHairless Spots on My Leg – Alopecia Areata? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr Rassman, I have 2 round, completely hairless bald spots on my leg, very slightly pitted & ridged fingernails, and some hair loss on the sides of my head. I have read a lot about alopecia areata and was relieved to find out that al. areata hair loss is usually in clumps, but then I came across a website that said that there is a type of alopecia areata that is a general thinning of the hair (not talking about dupa), I have also read on this site that there can be several reasons for round hairless patches other than alopecia areata, and lastly I have read that there can be many reasons for pitted fingernails, my question to you is can you tell me the list of tests I should have done to evaluate what I am experiencing? I plan to see a Dr. regarding this as well, but I also wanted to ask your thoughts. Thank you.

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You have 2 round and hairless spots on your leg along with pitted and ridged fingernails. Although alopecia areata is frequently seen in clusters, it is not unusual to see just one area involved. Accompanying signs like pitting and ridging fingernails are found in alopecia areata (AA), but it can also be found in fungal infections as well. It is a good idea to see a dermatologist and if presenting typical signs, you may not need any other tests. If AA has an unusual presentation, your doctor may choose to take a skin biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.

November 15, 2006

Teen Girl Losing Hair, Wonders If It Is Cancer – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Im a 14 year old girl and about 2 weeks ago I cut my hair myself. I always do so I didnt think anything wrong was going to happen. But now any time I run my hand though my hair I have like a hair ball and it’s starting to scare me because I used to have really thick hair. My mom has thin hair. Could i have cancer? My grandmother has a history of it.

Based on what you’re telling me, I doubt that you have cancer. If there is a family history of cancer (ovaries, breast, uterus) then you should find out if your family has the gene for such cancers. If that is the case, you can get checked out for the cancer gene as well. If it is not in the family, I doubt that you need to get the genetic test. I remember when I was in medical school, each and every time I found out the details of a disease, I seem to have developed the symptoms of that disease. Eventually, I learned to disassociate my learning from my life and I stopped getting the weird diseases. At 14 years old, cancer is unusual, but that is a matter you should discuss with your parents and your doctor.

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November 13, 2006

Hair Loss Information » 5 Year Old Daughter’s Hair Won’t Grow — What Can We Do? – Balding Blog

My 5 year old daughter’s hair will not grow. The sides (around her ears) grow longer than the very back and top of her head. We have tried trimming it, (she does not have enough to trim any more than an 1/8 of an inch at a time), we have tried shampoos to strengthen it etc. When I run my hands through her hair, it comes out. We have taken her to a local doctor who had no answers for us. She is almost six and we are scared that this is going to become an issue with her soon. We do not know where to go at this point? Any suggestions?

There are a number of genetic diseases that could be responsible. A good dermatologist should evaluate her. An example of a genetic disease can be read about here — Gene Glitch May Up Inherited Hair Loss.

November 10, 2006

I Was Diagnosed Chronic Kidney Disease and Stopped Propecia – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am 35 years old I was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease earlier this year (stage 3). Up until this point I had taken Propecia with good results. My Doctor has told me to stop all medication, vitamins etc but since stopping Propecia my hair is falling out quick. Is this normal? I want to go back on Propecia but my Doctor said no. Do you know if Propecia has any adverse affects on the kidneys?

Many thanks

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There is no documented adverse effect of Propecia on the kidneys. Propecia use is safe in patients with renal failure. Propecia is being eliminated from your body by two different ways:

Excretion in the urine (39%)
Excretion in the feces (57%)

This means, even if you have severe kidney failure, your body can get rid of Propecia through the liver and it will be excreted into the feces; so in theory no real adjustment is needed for Propecia in patients with kidney failure. Having said that, you still need to talk it over with your physician and make sure about the other reasons that he/she may have wanted it discontinued. Share this blog posting with your doctor. You might want to try the regular dose and then check for blood levels at the lab.

November 10, 2006

Hemorrhoids and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Excessive bleeding from hemorrhoids for a period of four days triggered hair loss which has persisted and has fallen out over a period of four months. I have an iron deficiency although I am not anaemic. Worringly, my hair loss has not occurred on the back and sides (a characteristic of AGA). Do you think my hair will regrow?

Iron loss from acute and chronic bleeding can cause hair loss. It is a controversial issue. A link between iron deficiency and hair loss is not fully shown in every study and that is why iron-deficiency screening is not routine for people with hair loss. However, studies show that whatever the cause of hair loss, having too little iron in the blood makes it worse.

Treatment of iron deficiency is easy and patients with accelerated hair loss due to iron deficiency will respond beautifully to correction of their iron deficiency. You may also be predisposed to AGA and iron deficiency has just triggered the ‘genetic switch’. The good news is, even if this is the case, your hair loss should improve considerably with treatment of iron deficiency.

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October 30, 2006

Hair Loss InformationAny Solutions for Severe Dandruff? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

For the past 3 to 4 years, i am suffering from severe dandruff. I have also been diagnosed with PCOS last year which is now under control. Mine is long hair and this dandruff is also cyclic. Some times it is perfectly clean and sometimes at its worse. I have used topical products like diprovate with minimal improvement and the shampoos are also not giving the desired result. The dandruff is primarily flaky which is very embarrassing to me. Please suggest me if there is any solution to it. My hair is thinning day by day.

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Dandruff may be the sign of a skin disorder like seborrhea, psoriasis, etc. You need to see a good dermatologist and find out if you have some scalp disorder causing what you are seeing and calling dandruff.

October 26, 2006

Adrenal Problems and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Is there a correlation between adrenal fatigue/insufficiency and hair loss (in the form of total head miniaturization, but yet have no balding, no recession.) I have very low DHEA levels and high cortisol levels…. would chronic/high physiologic stress levels induce hair thinning/miniatuzization?

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Yes, it is a possibility, as low adrenal function in such conditions as Addison’s disease affects about 1 in 100000 people. Hair loss throughout the body is a reported finding in this condition. I do not have experience with following people with this disease, as they are treated with appropriate hormone supplements. I have never seen a patient with Addison’s disease and studied the existence of miniaturization or a follow-up of this in a treated patient. Sorry that I can not shed more light on your question.

October 19, 2006

Scared to Lose My Hair with Chemotherapy – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’m a 22 year old girl who will be starting chemo the first week of November ‘07. While the thought of treatment is really scary, what’s scaring me the most is knowing that I’ll be losing my hair outwardly looking ill. I’ve been doing a huge amount of research on any ways to retain my hair during treatment. I keep ending up hitting a product called Thymu-Skin. I can’t find any sites that discuss if there are any side effects to using this product while on chemo.

Can you please help me out with this? I’d really appreciate it!!

thanks

Chemotherapy does not necessarily mean you will lose hair. Hair loss depends on the specific drug used in chemotherapy. Your doctor who will be overseeing your chemotherapy treatment should be able to answer all of your questions and tell you how chemotherapy will affect your health and hair. The good news is that if you lose your hair, it will probably come back strong after the growth cycle is invoked.

To my knowledge, there is no FDA approved product to prevent hair loss from chemotherapy. With respect to ThymuSkin, I have heard of this product from patients and readers like you. Most accounts of its success/failure are based on anecdotal accounts. Despite the claim of ‘research’ and publications, they are rarely in peer reviewed mainstream journals and even if it is, the design of the study needs to be scrutinized for biases in the research. A theme that often echoes here on BaldingBlog is that it is a “buyer beware” market.

Of note, the ThymuSkin website seems to account the expertise of Dr. Morton Walker. Dr Walker is a doctor of podiatry medicine (D.P.M.) I am confused how a foot doctor came to be an expert in hair loss and the thymus.

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October 9, 2006

Hyperparathyroidism and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

(male) Hey,

I wrote before and didn’t know if you missed my last question or just didn’t get a chance to answer it. To cut to the chase, is there a relationship between hair loss and hyperparathyroidism (and the removal of a parathyroid gland)? Blood tests also indicated that I had high testosterone levels before that along with high calcium. Surgery was 2 years ago. I’m just about 21 right now.

Thanks for your help

One of the symptoms of hyperparathyroidism is hair loss. I do not have experience about reversal once the condition is treated successfully. You are of the age where genetic hair loss may come into play here. Be sure that you get your hair mapped out for miniaturization, so that you can be sure that you are not also experiencing genetic hair loss. If there is miniaturization present, then is may be likely that the hair will not grow back.