What is Alopecia?

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What is Alopecia?

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By Dr Ananya Mandal, MD

Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss. There are several patterns of natural and disease related hair loss. Hair loss may also be caused by several drugs and medications.
Types of hair loss and symptoms

    The commonest type of hair loss is male-pattern baldness. This type of hair loss is typically caused by the effects of hormones. This is also termed androgenic or androgenetic alopecia as the cause lies in androgens of male sex hormones. There is a pattern of receding hairline along with thinning of hair over the crown.
    Female pattern baldness – there is thinning of hair over the top of the head.
    Alopecia areata – this is also termed patchy baldness as there are patches of baldness that come and go. This may commonly affect teenagers and young adults but may affect a person of any age. Alopecia areata is commonly caused due to a problem in the immune system. The condition may sometimes run in families.
    Scarring alopecia – this is mainly caused after a scar over the skin. This type of alopecia is called cicatricial alopecia. The hair follicles that hold the roots of the hair may be completely destroyed. This means that the hair would not grow back at the areas affected. Some diseases and disorders also cause scarring alopecia. These include lichen planus, injury, discoid lupus etc.
    Anagen effluvium is a more widespread hair loss that may affect the whole body apart from the scalp. This is caused most commonly due to cancer chemotherapy.
    Telogen effluvium - leads to thinning of hair all over the body rather than baldness in patches. This may be the result of stress of some medications.

http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Alopecia.aspx

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Causes of Alopecia

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By Dr Ananya Mandal, MD

There are several types and causes of alopecia or hair loss. Hair loss may occur as a natural part of aging, due to a disease, injury or due to drugs and medications. The causes of alopecia or hair loss include:-

    Male and female pattern baldness

    Male-pattern baldness commonly runs in families and may be influenced by levels of hormones. A hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is made from the male hormone testosterone.

    In genetically susceptible individuals the hair follicles are exceptionally sensitive to this hormone DHT. Excess DHT leads to thinning and falling of hair. The hair grows for shorter duration and the length of the hair is also shorter than usual. At a given time different areas of the scalp may be affected.

    The cause of female-pattern baldness is not very clear. Baldness and thinning of hair is common among women after menopause as the levels of female hormones decline.

    In addition women with polycystic ovarian syndrome and other hormonal disorders with higher levels of male sex hormones, there is a risk of excessive facial hair and thinning of hair over the scalp.

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Causes-of-Alopecia.aspx

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Medications that Can Cause Alopecia / Hair Loss

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By Yolanda Smith, BPharm

Alopecia, also commonly known as hair loss, can sometimes occur as a result of taking some medications. The effects typically become evident within several says or weeks of initiating or increasing the dose of a medication.

The risk of drug-induced alopecia depends both on the type of medications taken and the individual response to it. Some drugs are strongly linked to causing alopecia and result in hair loss for most patients who take the drug, while other drugs may cause hair loss in some patients but not others.
 
Signs and Symptoms of Drug-Induced Alopecia

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Medications-that-Can-Cause-Alopecia-Hair-Loss.aspx