Hair lose. Alopecia areata.

Hair lose. Alopecia areata.
Hair fall out? Carefully look for the cause of hair loss and baldness!
Of the large number of causes of hair loss in men and women, we list the main (statistically the most important first):
• Hormonal disorders - increasing the level of androgens (male sex hormones) in both men and women
• Genetic predisposition - mostly for men
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (for women)
• Diseases of the thyroid
• Disbakterioznye status and chronic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract
• Problems with immunity
• Infectious and inflammatory diseases of the scalp (seborrhea, dermatitis, etc.)
• Chronic diseases of internal organs, especially in the case of long-term use of drugs that lead to hair loss
• Exposure to external aggressive factors such as radiation, radiation, chemotherapy, etc.
• Long-term uncompensated stress conditions
More information about baldness, alopecia
Medical analog of the word "bald" is the term "alopecia". Distinguish alopecia, androgenetic and diffuse alopecia. Three of these species belong to the so-called nerubtsovoy alopecia, which occurs without preceding skin lesions, ie without the formation of scar tissue. Cicatricial alopecia (they are about two dozen forms) is due to scarring on the scalp, which was formed, for example, after inflammation or after injury.
To immediately close the issue with scar forms of alopecia, we say that the therapeutic, that is, non-surgical, treatments help patients whose scars have formed, with no hair, we can not. But surgeons are now fully mastered the hair transplant in the rumen, and this method gives good results.
We now consider this type of baldness as alopecia areata. This disease occurs frequently, and in another it is called "focal" baldness, "krugovidnym" hair loss, sometimes even a "nesting". It begins suddenly, usually as "amongst the total health", and look like rounded pockets (sometimes at first - one source), alopecia of different sizes with a complete lack of hair and can be placed on the scalp, beard area, eyebrows, eyelashes or body. If the process continues after the appearance of foci, the foci, increasing, may merge with each other, and then formed irregularly shaped kill zone. One in every four, who suffers from focal alopecia has a family history of a case with close relatives. Common today classification distinguishes several types of alopecia hair loss: conventional (with a possibility for a benign self-healing); pregipertenzivny type (usually occurs in young people who subsequently develop severe forms of hypertension at a young age), atopic (allergic variant) autoimmune (a combination of alopecia areata with autoimmune disease - Hashimoto's thyroiditis, vitiligo, myasthenia gravis, etc.) and mixed.
It is believed that alopecia areata - pluricausal disease, which greatly complicates the treatment process, because revealed no major leading cause of a disease, it is very difficult to cure it. This explains the diversity of treatments and approaches. However, even before the diagnosis of the patient should be screened for syphilis, since this disease is one of the symptoms is just the "melkoochazhkovoe" baldness. It is also necessary to differentiate alopecia areata with "ringworm" (microsporia), which often happens in children, communicating with lichens cats and dogs.
The main causes of alopecia areata are: stress, physical trauma, concomitant infections, gastro-intestinal tract, pathology of the nervous system, head injuries, diseases of thyroid system, genetic predisposition, etc. Among the mechanisms of development most likely is an autoimmune process - that is a violation immune system is the main cause of alopecia areata. It is in this direction today can expect a breakthrough in understanding the mechanism of this disease, and, consequently, its effective treatment. Also important is the imbalance of trace elements in the human body.
Patients with experience can tell you that the disease has its own character, its own ideas about when and how much weight to give exacerbation, and to take control of alopecia areata is very, very difficult. Often this takes years of hard treatment.
Specialists of the Center of Modern Medicine "at the Institute of Immunology in which I work, analyzing the currently available information and generalizing the many years of experience working with patients suffering from various forms of alopecia areata have been able to offer modern, in-depth and scientifically sound methods of treatment alopecia hair loss, giving encouraging results. Under this scheme to date has successfully treated dozens of patients with alopecia areata, most of which is in a state of stable remission, ie, For several years living without foci of alopecia.
Androgenetic alopecia - is the most common type of baldness in both men and women: it is believed that this type of baldness is approximately 95% of all types of hair loss. Due to the fact that in recent years, the issue of studying the causes and mechanism of the disease greatly progressed, it became possible to achieve success in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.
Now established that the development of androgenetic alopecia is genetically (the question of whether one gene is responsible for it or more, is not yet resolved). Developing this type of baldness due to improve the sensitivity of cells of hair follicles to androgenic hormones. It is important to note that the contents of androgens (male sex hormones) in the blood usually is within normal limits.
In simplified form, the mechanism of development looks like this: under the action of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, found in the cells of the hair bulb and hair papilla, the male sex hormone testosterone is converted into a more active androgen hormone - a 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone. The latter enters the cell and a result of a series of biochemical reactions that violates the synthesis of proteins. The result is a reduction in the size of follicles with the gradual transformation of the coarse hair into vellus, which is a characteristic feature of androgenetic alopecia. This mechanism is the same for both men and women.
In women, pattern hair loss is somewhat different (in this case is not about hair loss after childbirth): in the case of the normal concentration of androgens in the blood of alopecia does not develop in the absence of congenital mutations of CYP21. With mild increase in androgens in the blood - it is marked androgenic alopecia in women's type, with a significant increase - male pattern. Often, Androgenetic alopecia in women is combined with hirsutism. Moreover, among the causes of baldness in women, it should be noted pathological changes of ovaries, adrenal glands, a marked decrease in the number of estrogens (female hormones) after giving birth, taking certain birth control pills, which contain substances that lead to increased levels of androgens in the blood .
External manifestations of androgenetic alopecia sufficiently characterized. In men, it develops, usually closer to 20 years, women - 20 - 30 years. Marked hair loss, which occurs in waves, alternating with periods of zatihaniya. Often this is coupled with increased activity of sebaceous glands, which makes patients more likely to wash my hair, which further strengthens the hair loss. Hair gradually becomes thinner, it becomes more colorless. Due to the shortening of hair length anagenovoy phase also becomes smaller.
"According to conventional classification, both men and women differentiate androgenetic alopecia for male and female type IV and I-III degrees, respectively.
When alopecia male pattern hair thinning observed triangular shape in the temporal region (I degree), then in the forehead and neck (II degree). III corresponds to the degree of diffuse hair thinning in the central-parietal region, with its progression of hair are only a small area between the frontal and central-parietal region (IV degree), this plot over time disappears (V degree). Perhaps the gradual development of total alopecia, but for women it is usually not observed.
Female type androgenetic alopecia is characterized by clinical manifestations. It is characterized by pockets of hair thinning in the central-parietal region, which has an oval shape. An important feature is the absence of alopecia at the temples and forehead. Grade I corresponds to mild, II degree - moderate, III - strongly expressed alopecia. It is believed that women's development of II degree of hair loss indicates the presence of hyperandrogenism, usually due to changes in the ovaries; III degree is generally observed in pre-or postmenopausal women at a younger age - in the presence of pathology as the ovaries and adrenal glands. "( Valeria Mordovtseva, "What is androgenic alopecia?")
In the pictures below, shows the initial stages of hair thinning, when the girls still do not think about it, but the problem is already visible, and deserves close attention. And at this stage of the treatment the hair will take much less time and cost considerably less.
   
   
Here I want to mention another important point, a kind of psychological trap that sometimes get the girl. Wanting to have a gorgeous hair, do they mean by this not only density, but also the length, which is quite natural. But do not take into account that the long and strong thinning hair look very sad.
Diffuse hair loss is usually an early stage anrogeneticheskogo baldness or hair loss age. More often it telogenovy form of hair loss (though occasionally also occurs anagenovy form of diffuse hair thinning).
One should also note that there are physiological variations telogenovogo hair loss: the loss of hair during pregnancy and after childbirth, it is thinning hair in women aged 16-19 years is senile or presenile hair loss in old age. But in all these cases, you must be sure we are not dealing with the initial stage androgenetic alopecia.
In recent years, noted that the larger the bald spot - the higher the likelihood of developing heart disease, say Boston researchers. According to them, in individuals with a pronounced bald spot, the risk of heart disease increased by 36 percent.
In addition to all of the above causes of hair loss, there are still some factors that contribute to hair loss: the constant for the duration of the stress (or short, but intense), frequent and prolonged exposure at subzero temperatures without a hat (especially with wet hair) effects on hair and scalp of the atmosphere of large cities, acid rain, the work associated with chemical reagents, lack of certain trace elements in the human body (iron, zinc, manganese, selenium, etc.), prolonged, severe chronic illness, exposure, intake of some (most anticancer) drugs; frequent perms, use of low-quality hair dyes; frequent use of the dryer without the use of protective agents, a long-term, uncontrolled use of hormonal contraceptives (or rather "a syndrome of withdrawal"); hypervitaminosis A; frequent and prolonged use of antibiotics; reception thyreostatics; ingestion antiherpetic drugs, frequent use of antidepressants and antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, duration and indiscriminate use of "Nizoral" etc.
Recently, American scientists from the study of total baldness in the family, who emigrated from Pakistan, was discovered gene hairless. Detailed report on this scientific discovery was published in the Journal of Nature Genetics in 1996.
As the researchers said, only with the study of hairless gene have a real basis for molecular biological understanding of the process of hair loss. The genetic approach will allow physicians to equip practitioners with new methods of removal, hair growth, and even coloring them in predetermined locations of the human body, and without side effects. "Over the next five years, the problem of hair loss is resolved. Hairless study of gene function will allow us to finally develop an effective form of treatment for this disease," - this opinion at a recent press conference, doctors suggested Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.