Alopecia is the medical term for hair loss. Alopecia areata is the most common form of an uncommon autoimmune skin disease that results in hair loss on your scalp. It usually begins with a small patch of hair loss and continues with one or more smaller, rounder patches of hair loss all over your scalp.
According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF), alopecia areata affects about 2% of the total population, including more than 5 million people in the United States. Alopecia areata is considered a skin disease because it occurs on the hair or scalp skin, and is usually diagnosed by your dermatologist. Fortunately, experts agree, there is no rash, hives or itching involved, although exposed scalp areas require extra care.
In the 1990s, alopecia areata was classified as an auto-immune disease. Researchers found that the disease is the result of the body producing an inappropriate immune response against itself. However, “I find that most patients report a history of acute stress that led to the condition,” says Sarah Wasserbauer, MD, a board-certified hair transplant surgeon based in California.
normal hair growth cycle
Dr. Wasserbrauer explains that the normal growth rate of hair on the head is about a quarter to half an inch per month. Hair growth is a repeating cycle that can be disrupted by genetics, diseases, medications, infections, or other common factors that can cause hair loss. During the anagen growth phase, a follicle actively grows hair until the catagen phase in which the follicle slows down in growth. During the telogen phase, the follicle rests before the start of a new anagen phase or the growth of a new hair shaft. As the new hair shaft pushes out the ‘dead’ hair shaft, the old hair falls out. “About 50 to 100 telogen hairs are shed every day, and you’ll find them on your comb, brush, and in the shower drain,” says Dr. Wasserbrauer. If the scalp is healthy and not affected by any condition that causes hair loss, approximately 10 percent of the scalp’s hair follicles are normally in the telogen phase at any given time.
What does “autoimmune” mean?
According to the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Autoimmune Disease Research Center, a healthy human body uses an effective set of weapons, the immune system, against viruses, bacteria and parasites that can attack your body. Unfortunately, this powerful immune system sometimes mistakenly attacks the body itself. Misdirected immune responses are called auto-immunity. In alopecia areata, it is your hair follicles that are mistakenly attacked by your own immune system, resulting in a disruption of the hair growth phase.
types of alopecia
The NAAF classifies three types of alopecia areata. The first is alopecia areata which appears as random patches of hair loss. When hair loss occurs on the entire head, it is called alopecia totalis and when it extends to hair loss all over the body, it is called alopecia universalis. There is no definite cure for the condition, but many doctors prescribe medications to help control it. In all forms of alopecia areata, the hair follicles remain alive and are ready to resume normal hair production whenever they receive an appropriate signal from the body. According to the NAAF, in all cases, hair can regrow even without treatment and after many years.
Do you ‘catch’ alopecia areata…or is it genetic?
Experts believe that alopecia areata has a genetic component because one in five people who have the symptom also have a family member affected by hair loss, according to the NAAF. Current research has found that if it starts after the age of 30, you are less likely to have a family member affected. When the first patch of alopecia areata begins before the age of 30, other family members are more likely to be affected. The NAAF has focused much of its research on examining the genetic component of the disease to ultimately determine who is most susceptible to the disease and why. “Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the name for an inherited condition that is neither linked to a specific gene (or genes) nor has yet been definitively identified,” says Dr. Wasserbauer.
Alopecia Treatment Options
There is no FDA-approved treatment specifically for alopecia areata, according to the NAAF; however, many medical professionals are willing to try off-label treatments. Treatment options are available for mild, patchy alopecia areata (less than 50% scalp hair loss), although no accepted treatment works in all cases. Many hairstylists are using low light laser therapy to stimulate the follicles to produce new hair which only works on clients who have active hair follicles even in the early stages of hair loss.
Source by Naomi Mannino
