Alopecia-Hair Loss Types and Treatment

1. Alopecia / Hair Loss Types and Treatment The basic disorders causing hair loss / alopecia can be divided into: 1. Disorder of the hair shaft - Abnormality can be due to fragility of the hair where it breaks off easily. 2. All other forms of hair loss - This can be further sub-divided into two broad categories: - Scarring or cicatricial alopecia - These are conditions wherein the normal skin on thescalp is replaced by scar tissue as seen after injury. Hair loss, in such cases, is more orless permanent. For these kinds, it is highly recommended you meet your dermatologistat the earliest. - Non-scarring or non-cicatricial alopecia - The skin on the scalp is normal and hair lossis not permanent. NON-SCARRING ALOPECIA  Male and female pattern hair loss (syn. Androgenetic alopecia or common balding or hereditary balding). It is a hormone (androgen) dependent hair loss. Clinically it presents as symmetric and progressive hair loss in varying patterns. In males, the hair loss is prominent in the fronto-temporal region by way of a receding hairline. In females, it presents as hair loss in the vertex region of scalp, i.e., the top of scalp. Treatment includes topical minoxidil in various concentrations and oral multivitaminsand hormone regulatory tablets. New modalities such as mesotherapy, LASER, andhair transplant have also been tried with varying success rates.  Telogen Effluvium. Increased shedding of otherwise normal telogen hair in response to pathological or physiological changes. The various causes of telogen effluvium are post

2. pregnancy, after high fever, chronic illness, major surgical procedures, hypothyroidism,drastic change in diet (starvation or binge eating) and certain medicines. Normally hair lossbegins 2-3 months after the above mentioned events. Clinically it presents as thinning ofhair involving the entire scalp. The patient may give a history of thinning of ponytail in thepreceding 3-4 months. Hair pull test or gentle pull may elicit substantial hair count. The hairstructure may be normal on microscopic examination Treatment includes finding and eliminating the cause of rapid hair loss. Multivitaminsand iron supplements also play an important role.  Alopecia Areata. It is a non-scarring alopecia that presents as circular patchy hair loss. The hair loss may also be seen over the entire body including eye brows, axillary hair and chest hair along with scalp hair loss. It is seen to be associated with bronchial asthma, atopy, thyroid abnormality and diabetes. Treatment includes topical or intralesional cortico steroids, topical minoxidil, and insevere cases oral steroids can also be given.  Trichotillomania. It is a psychiatric disorder wherein there is self-induced plucking or breaking of hair. It is often associated with severe psychological stress or manic depressive stage. It presents itself as patchy hair loss in bizarre shapes involving the scalp, eye brows or face. Treatment includes treatment of the underlying psychiatric cause and behaviouralmodification. Article Source http://www.skinclinicbangalore.com/post/alopecia-hair-loss-types-and-treatment/1053 Published at Dr. Kisalay Saurav’s blog