Gary Cole, MD is board certified in dermatology.Dr. Cole obtained his BA degree in bacteriology, his MA degree in microbiology, and his MD at the University of California, Los Angeles. He trained in dermatology at the University of Oregon, where he completed his residency.
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There Dr. Shiel was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
"My alopecia first started two months before I conceived my son who is now 5 years old. My hair grew faster after I had my son. I used an ointment and herbal oils, which also helped a lot. There were times when I oiled my hair whenever I had to wash, so every two days or so. After giving birth and weaning my son, I got cortisone shots when the hairless patches recurred. Whenever I would have a disagreement with my husband over something, my scalp became itchy, the hairless patches appeared again. Recently when we were at the verge of a divorce, I had four hairless patches. I saw a dermatologist, and he gave me the cortisone shots again, it stimulated the hair growth. He also gave me an ointment that soothes my scalp. I think alopecia areata is mainly related to emotional stress. I am trying to be positive, and have become more close to God by praying regularly. That helps me calm down and release my stress. I hope someone can benefit from this."
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Alopecia areata facts
Alopecia areata is a hair-loss condition which usually affects the scalp.
Alopecia areata typically causes one or more patches of hair loss.
Alopecia areata affects both genders.
An autoimmune disorder, in which the immune system attacks hair follicles, is believed to cause alopecia areata.
For most patients, the condition resolves without treatment within a year, but hair loss is sometimes permanent.
A number of treatments are known to aid in hair regrowth. Multiple treatments may be necessary, and none consistently works for all patients.
Many treatments are promoted which have not proven to be of benefit.
What is alopecia areata?
Alopecia areata is an acquired skin disease that can affect all hair-bearing skin and is characterized by localized areas of non-scarring hair
loss. Alopecia areata, as a rule, is rarely associated with any other external or internal medical problems. Most often these bald areas regrow their hair spontaneously.
Alopecia areata is rare before the age of 3. There seems to be a significant tendency to inherit alopecia areata from
ancestors.
What causes alopecia areata?
Current evidence suggests that alopecia areata is caused by an abnormality in the immune system. This particular abnormality leads to autoimmunity, a misguided immune system that tends to attack its own body. As a result, the immune system attacks particular tissues of the body. In alopecia areata, for unknown reasons, the body's own immune system attacks the hair follicles and disrupts normal hair formation. Biopsies of affected skin show immune lymphocytes penetrating into the hair bulb of the hair follicles. Alopecia areata is occasionally associated with other autoimmune conditions such as allergic disorders, thyroid disease, vitiligo, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. The diagnosis or treatment of these diseases is unlikely to affect the course of alopecia areata. Sometimes, alopecia areata occurs within family members, suggesting a role of genes.
What are the different patterns of alopecia areata?
The most common pattern is one or more well-defined spots of hair loss on the scalp. There is also a form of more generalized thinning of hair referred to as diffuse alopecia areata throughout the scalp. Occasionally, all of the scalp hair is lost, a condition referred to as alopecia totalis. Less frequently, the loss of all of the hairs on the entire body, called alopecia universalis, occurs.
Vitiligo is a condition in which the skin turns white due to the loss of pigment from the melanocytes, cells that produce the pigment melanin that gives the skin color.
There are many causes of scalp hair loss. This featured article covers the common ones such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata, trichotillomania, and tinea capitis), telogen effluvium, and androgenetic alopecia (male-pattern baldness, female-pattern baldness).
Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is a disfiguring disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium leprae bacteria. The disease is spread from person to person through nasal secretions or droplets. Symptoms and signs of leprosy include numbness, loss of temperature sensation, painless ulcers, eye damage, loss of digits, and facial disfigurement. Leprosy is treated with antibiotics and the dosage and length of time of administration depends upon which form of leprosy the patient has.
There are many causes of scalp hair loss, and they do differ in men and women. This article will cover the common ones. Studies show that losing up to 100-150 hairs per day is normal. Human hair naturally grows in three phases: anagen, catagen, and telogen. Anagen is the active or growing phase.
Catagen is a fairly short phase of the natural hair cycle during which hairs begin to break down. Telogen is the resting phase. The hairs that are shed daily are often in the resting or late phase in the hair cycle. Normally, about 10% of the scalp hairs are in the resting or telogen phase at any time. These hairs are not growing and are getting prepared for cyclic shedding.
In general, most hair loss is not associated with systemic or internal disease, nor is poor diet a frequent factor. Frequently, hair may simply thin as a result of predetermined genetic factors, family history, and the overall aging process. Many men and women may n...