Hair Loss

Hair loss treatment at the Proctor clinic

Acta Derm Venereol. 1988;68(2):116-22
LPatche tests
Immunohistochemistry of lymphocytes and Langerhans’ cells in long-lasting allergic patch tests.

Kanerva L, et al

A long-lasting allergic patch test is a “normal” allergic patch test that remains positive for weeks or months. An immunohistochemical study of immunocompetent cells in the skin in this rare type of patch tests was performed. snip.. hair loss..An inflammatory reaction of hair follicles with moderate numbers of T6+ cells in the peribulbar infiltrate was observed indicating that hair follicles might act as shunt pathways for allergens. A defect in down regulation of the contact hypersensitivity reaction and/or a constant antigen stimulation could be responsible for the long-lasting allergic patch tests.

Low-sulfur hair syndrome associated with UVB photosensitivity and testicular failure.

Lucky PA, et al

A 16-year-old male patient had a syndrome that included growth retardation, mental retardation, hair shaft abnormalities, neurosensory hearing loss, contractures of the fifth fingers, ultraviolet B (UVB) photosensitivity, small testicular size, and elevated levels of follicle-stimulating hormone. Reduced hair sulfur content and a characteristic pattern of light and dark birefringent bands, seen when hairs were viewed with polarization microscopy, were typical of the low-sulfur hair syndrome. UVB photosensitivity and testicular failure have not previously been identified as components of this syndrome.

Hair loss blogs

Dermatology. 1997;195(1):96-8.

Congenital alopecia areata.

de Viragh PA, et al.

Alopecia areata has never been documented in a newborn. Thus, it is generally assumed that alopecia areata is acquired only postnatally, and it is believed that the presence of an alopecia at birth virtually excludes its diagnosis. In this report we document a case of alopecia areata in a premature newborn.

Lab Anim Sci. 1984 Dec;34(6):584-7.
Morphologic characteristics of the skin of bald mutant rats.

Inazu M, Sakaguchi T.

The skin of a new hairloss mutation in the rat termed “bald” was examined histologically and enzyme histochemically with animals from three weeks to 18 months of age. The loss of hair in homozygous (bald) rats proved to occur as follows: a club hair rising within the hair follicle in the first catagen phase was not anchored and fell out due to dilatation of the follicular lumen. In the skin of bald rats from two to three months of age on, two types of cyst developed, one from the infundibulum of the hair follicle and the other from a lower follicular portion left in the dermis. Each had histologic patterns different from each other. The wall of the former cyst contained various-sized keratohyaline granules in a large number, while the latter was keratinized without granules. In addition to cyst formation, foreign-body granulomas frequently appeared from three months of age on, originating from degenerated follicular portions in the dermis. In advanced cases after 12 months of age, the granulomatous lesions were sharply demarcated from the other tissue. Histochemically, acid phosphatase activity was observed in the skin of bald rats, in the wall of the dilated hair follicles and the cystic wall where progressive keratinization with age occurred. This enzymatic activity tended to heighten as keratinization proceeded.

Z Hautkr. 1990 Dec;65(12):1103-4, 1109-11.

Endocrinologic diagnosis in hirsutism and androgenetic alopecia in women

Pichl J, Schell H.

In women, hirsutism and male pattern baldness are due to an enhanced effect of androgens on the hair follicle, which in turn can be caused by an increased supply of bio-available androgens and/or an increased sensitivity of the target organ to androgens. There are no definite correlations between circulating androgens and the degree of their biological effects. Although in most cases the hyperandrogenemia is not severe, the patients should be treated with antiandrogens in order to avoid progression of the disturbance and its consequences on metabolism and fertility. Sometimes hirsutism or hai rloss can be observed as a clinical sign of a defect in the steroid biosynthesis or of Cushing’s syndrome. In severe hyperandrogenemia with a testosterone level of more than 2 ng/ml and a DHEA-S level of more than 8000 ng/ml, tumors of the ovaries or the adrenal glands have to be excluded.

Arch Dermatol. 1983 Dec;119(12):975-8.

PUVA treatment of alopecia areata.

Claudy AL, Gagnaire D.
Twenty-three patients with hair loss secondary to alopecia areata were treated with photochemotherapy combining oral or topical methoxsalen and UV-A irradiation of the scalp or of the whole body. Eleven of 17 patients with multiple plaques of alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, and alopecia universalis, who were treated with oral methoxsalen and total body irradiation, had complete or more than 90% hair regrowth. Three patients had a relapse. The mean energy required was 505 joules/sq cm. In six cases, topical applications of methoxsalen or oral methoxsalen combined with local irradiation of the scalp were treatment failures. In the patients responding to treatment, the result did not seem to depend on the age of onset or the extent or duration of disease. However, patients with long-lasting alopecia had a higher risk of recurrence notwithstanding a good initial regrowth of hair. Few side effects of psoralens and UV-A (PUVA) treatment were noted. The mean follow-up period was 18.6 months after the completion of treatment. We discuss the possible mechanisms of action of PUVA in the treatment of alopecia areata.

Am J Orthod. 1981 Apr;79(4):437-8.

Pressure-potential alopecia areata.

Zuehlke RL, Bishara S, Price V.

In order to create awareness of a potential adverse effect of extraoral orthodontic appliances, we report the development of hair loss secondary to alopecia areata in two patients. Both patients experienced the onset of alopecia areata directly under sites of pressure from thier “headgear.” In one patient the hair loss began 2 weeks after she began using her appliance. The other girl noticed patchy alopecia 2 to 3 weeks following an increase in the pressure and duration of use of an extraoral appliance. One of the patients also developed other areas of alopecia areata in sites unrelated to pressure. In both cases relief of the pressure was accompanied by hair regrowth in about 5 months. One of the patients received corticosteroid injections into the patches of alopecia areata; the other had no medical therapy. We conclude that alopecia areata can be made manifest by local pressure, such as that from orthodontic appliances.

Arch Dermatol. 1999 Mar;135(3):257-8.

Study of the Food and Drug Administration files on Propecia: dosages, side effects, and recommendations.
Frankel S.
University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6396, USA.

PMID: 10086445