Is it possible to have a misdiagnosis from a scalp biopsy?
It depends upon what the biopsy is for. If it is for classic male pattern balding, then the answer is yes. If it is for cancer or other real pathology, there are always human variables that relate to skills and specialization.
i am a 26 y.o. white male. I exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet and have no known health problems. I am embarassed by the unusual growth pattern of leg hair over the past 10 years. I have extremely hairy knees but almost no hair on my calves or shins. The skin on my calves is also very pale and thin and I am developing age spots. I totally avoid the sun in this area. Is there any way to improve this condition (with diet , medication, etc)and what may be the cause? I have no other symptoms. I would like to improve the skin on my legs at the very least.
I am sorry that I can’t offer much help, but that is just the way you are. You can try Rogaine (minoxidil) on your shins if you want to grow hair there, as it may work. On the bright side, at least you don’t have hairy palms.
My scalp is very itchy like is something is crawling in my hair. I am loosing hair very rapidly. I had a biopsy of my scalp done about 7 months ago where nothing was found wrong. I don’ know know what to do next. I have use most over the counter and RX shampoos and nothing has helped. Please advise. Thank you.
Maybe you have dandruff? I really cannot tell you what is wrong. It sounds like you need to see a dermatologist. Aside from the biopsy, have you checked to see if something is really crawling in your hair, like body lice? There is no substitute for a good, thorough examination by a caring doctor.
Yo, doc!
I’m not sure if you’ve read the study yet, but here’s yet another delicious piece of the pie:
Dickkopf-1 biggest factor in DHT signalled hair loss.
Recent studies suggest that androgen-driven alteration to the autocrine and paracrine factors produced by scalp dermal papilla (DP) cells may be a key to androgen-potentiated balding. Here, we screened dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-regulated genes in balding DP cells and found that dickkopf 1 (DKK-1) is one of the most upregulated genes. DKK-1 messenger RNA is upregulated in 3-6 hours after 50-100 nM DHT treatment and ELISA showed that DKK-1 is secreted from DP cells in response to DHT. A co-culture system using outer root sheath (ORS) keratinocytes and DP cells showed that DHT inhibits the growth of ORS cells, and neutralizing antibody against DKK-1 significantly reversed the growth inhibition of ORS cells. Analysis of co-cultured ORS cells showed a significant increment of sub-G1 apoptotic cells in response to DHT. Also, recombinant human DKK-1 inhibited the growth of ORS cells and triggered apoptotic cell death. In addition, DHT-induced epithelial cell death in cultured hair follicles was reversed by neutralizing DKK-1 antibody. Moreover, immunoblotting showed that the DKK-1 level is up in the bald scalp compared with the haired scalp of patients with androgenetic alopecia. Altogether, our data strongly suggest that DHT-inducible DKK-1 is involved in DHT-driven balding.
Interesting study! Thank you for the information. The complete abstract is available here, at the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Since I really have nothing further to add, perhaps they should consider a name change — something other than Dickkopf. It is bad enough that Propecia is already associated with a similar sounding, although untrue, side effect.
I have these small swellings on the head right behind both of my ears . . each swellings are around 5 cm in diameter and bone hard, no pain if i touch them or pres them . . but they have this really annoying stressed feeling and . . . they seem to change size starting from the back of my head till the neck . . . Doctors here say that it is nothing and wants to give me anti-anxiety pills for visiting them so often . . 5 months passed and it seems to get worse. I am worried that it needs better attention. Could you please tell me what I can do? I even don’t know the name of the disease.
Another symptom I want to mention if it is related. I am losing more hair from my head . . the hair strands seem to be coming off from the root and they are very dry most of the time
Please help
Thanking you in Advance
You should go to another doctor. If there are bumps behind the ears, then something is wrong. Without seeing you, there’s not much more I can offer. Sorry.
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Hi,
I’m 21 and a couple of months ago someone made a comment asking me was I losing my hair. I really don’t think that I am. I’ve always had a high hair line and I’ve compared recent photographs with ones from 1 or 2 years ago and I see no obvious signs. But it has become something of an obsession. I am handsome, but unfortunatly I am also incredibly vain and if i did begin to lose my hair I would probably cry for a month. I am wondering if this obsession can lead to hair loss? If i am so fixated on it not happening could i actually help it along – the power of the mind if you will. Also, is baldness inherited from the father or the mother’s side?
thank you
If you are not losing hair, then obsessing over it may require therapy. Consider getting help. I do hair transplants and make assessments of those losing hair. I can not really help you.
Once a person has stopped pulling hair, and the hair is growing (albeit very slowly) what can be done to enhance this growth given the pathophysiology and consequences from trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania can sometimes be a life long problem. Once the trichotillomania is under control and hair starts to grow there are no ‘known’ medications or treatments to speed up hair growth, but you might try minoxidil and see if it helps. I am sure there are hundreds of products that claim otherwise, but the only “cure” is time.
Hello. I was browsing through your site looking for answers to verify something I was told by a doctor at an online herbal store. What I found was quite the opposite. According to this doctor masturbation can be linked to hair loss among other things. My concern surrounding the matter is I started masturbation at an age before my endocrine system kicked in and I’ve continued the habbit up until now.
Putting all the irrelevant information aside I guess my question is simply; Are you correct or are they?
Normal body functions include masturbation for most healthy men. It does not cause hair loss, but if a man has the gene for hair loss, then they will lose hair even if they did not masturbate. In other words, masturbation does not cause hair loss. I’d say this is one of the most frequent questions I get, and the answer never changes. Site tip: The search box in the top right corner of every page on this site would give you the answer you’re seeking very quickly.
Here’s some examples that I found just by using the search –
Once more, masturbating does not cause you to lose your hair. Do you want to masturbate, but you are afraid of losing your hair because of it? They are not linked! Go nuts! No pun intended.
So to answer your question — I would stay away from people who give you bad advice.
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Our host was having major issues (unrelated to our site, we hope!) and as such, BaldingBlog wasn’t accessible for the past 4 hours. Sorry for all the downtime today, it was out of our hands!
From the Associated Press:
A former Triple-A pitcher from California has become the first player in Japanese baseball history to flunk a drug test.
Rick Guttormson, who played in the San Diego and Seattle minor league systems, was suspended for 20 days Friday after testing positive for a banned substance. His team, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, was fined $63,000.
Japanese baseball officials said a postgame test July 13 showed Finasteride in Guttormson’s system. Finasteride was in a hair-growing agent the 30-year-old Guttormson had been taking for two years. It’s banned because it can be used as a masking agent.
Read the full article here — American pitcher becomes first player to fail drug test in Japan
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