Propecia

Hair Loss: Information

Male pattern hair loss is the most common form of hair loss and Bald ness, representing close to 95% of all cases of hair loss in men. And about half of all men experience male pattern hair loss by age 50. So if you have male pattern hair loss, you are certainly not alone.

Male Pattern Baldness (MPB): Signs and Symptoms

• Receding hairline
• Moderate to extensive loss of hair, especially on the crown

We are probably very familiar with this type of hair loss and Bald ness. It begins with a receding hairline and/or slow balding at the crown. It is typically a progressive condition—left untreated the hair loss will likely continue. Scientists believe male pattern hair loss is inherited from either side of your family and that a chemical called dihydrotestosterone, more commonly referred to as DHT, is a key factor in hair loss.

At any one time, about 10 to 12 percent of the hair on your scalp is in a resting phase. After 2 to 3 months, the resting hair falls out and new hair starts to grow in its place. This growing phase lasts for 2 to 6 years. Each hair grows approximately 1 centimeter per month during this phase. About 90 percent of the hair on your scalp is growing at any one time.

It is normal to shed some hair each day as part of this cycle. However, Many people may experience excessive (more than normal) hair loss.

Causes of Hair Loss

• A number of things can cause excessive hair loss. For example, about 3 or 4 months after an illness or a major surgery, you may suddenly lose a large amount of hair. This hair loss is related to the stress of the illness and is temporary.
• Hormonal problems may cause hair loss. If your thyroid gland is overactive or underactive, your hair may fall out. This hair loss usually can be helped by treatment of the thyroid disease. Hair loss may occur if male or female hormones, known as androgens and estrogens, are out of balance. Correcting the hormone imbalance may stop your hair loss.
• Many women notice hair loss about 3 months after they've had a baby. This loss is also related to hormones. During pregnancy, high levels of certain hormones cause the body to keep hair that would normally fall out. When the hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, that hair falls out and the normal cycle of growth and loss starts again.
• Some medicines can cause hair loss. This type of hair loss improves when you stop taking the medicines. Medicines that can cause hair loss include blood thinners (also called anticoagulants), medicines used for gout, medicines used in chemotherapy to treat cancer, vitamin A (if too much is taken), birth control pills and antidepressants.
• Certain infections can cause hair loss. Children may have hair loss caused by a fungal infection of the scalp. The infection is easily treated with antifungal medicines.
• Finally, hair loss may occur as part of an underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes. Since hair loss may be an early sign of a disease, it is important to find the cause so that it can be treated.

Treatment of Hair Loss

• Some types of hair loss can be reversed with the discontinuation of a behavior, a change in diet, or the return to health after illness. Pattern baldness, on the other hand, is irreversible without treatment. Fortunately, treatments are available, in the form of both medication and surgery.
• Medication for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia come in both topical and oral forms.
• The prevalent topical medication is minoxidil, an ointment that is rubbed directly onto the scalp. The most commonly used oral medication is finasteride. Finasteride has been shown to be more effective than minoxidil, though both have shown some success at both stopping hair loss and growing new hair.
• Surgical treatments are primarily designed for the treatment of male pattern baldness, though in some cases women can also benefit from them. They include hair transplantation, flap surgery, tissue expansion, and scalp reduction.
• Hair transplant surgery – also referred to as hair grafting involves the removal of hairy sections of scalp from the back and sides of the head and their subsequent replacement in spots with no hair. The scalp sections are removed in one of two ways: small grafts can be removed with a cylindrical punch, while larger sections can be cut out with a scalpel and divided up. The patient may choose to have the transplants divided into narrow strips, even more narrow slit-grafts, or tiny sections of only a few hairs. Openings are created in the bald area to receive the grafts, which are then inserted. The openings are then closed with stitches. The grafts are spaced out to allow them plenty of blood flow. The hair follicles in the transplant will die and fall out, but new, natural follicles will grow in to replace them. If extensive replacement is necessary, the surgery will often be completed in several stages spaced out a few months apart.
• Flap surgery takes a strip of hairy scalp and relocates it to a bald spot while still leaving it connected to blood flow. To begin the procedure, the bald skin is removed, creating a receptor location along the edge of the hairline. Then, a matching hair-bearing flap of scalp is created immediately adjacent to the receptor site. This flap is removed, except for a hinge of skin at one end, and rotated over to its new position. Nourishing blood flows through the hinge to the rest of the flap, allowing it to keep growing. Usually, the flap is placed near the front of the scalp, so that other methods – such as tissue expansion or scalp reduction – can be used to fill in the area behind.
• Tissue expansion is performed using a small empty sack that is inserted under the skin. The sack is gradually filled with saline over the course of a few months. The skin begins to grow new cells to expand around the bulge. This new skin contains hair follicles, so it can be placed over adjacent bald patches.
• Scalp reduction involves the removal of bald skin around the crown of the head and the subsequent stretching of adjacent hair-bearing scalp to cover the area. Sutures hold the stretched skin in place while it acclimates to its new position. Scalp reduction is often used in conjunction with flap surgery to cover a bald crown.

Hair: Information

Hair is composed of keratin, the same protein that makes up nails and the outer layer of our skin. The part seen rising out of the skin is called hair shaft or strand. Each strand consists of three layers. The outermost protective layer (cuticle) is thin and colorless. The middle layer, or cortex, is the thickest. It provides strength, determines your hair color and whether your hair is straight or curly.

Hair shaft under microscope: light is reflected from the colorless cuticle and bent as it passes through the hair - this effect gives hair the color we see.

Side Effects of Hair Loss Treatments

• Most common side effects include dry itching and flaking scalp. Rare side effects include low blood pressure, which is completely reversible once stopping medication.
• Side effects while using Generic Propecia tablets are rare and include, lowered libido, lowered amount of ejaculant, and erectile dysfunction in less that 2% of the men in the clinical trials. Note: 1.3% of the men in the placebo group experienced the same side effects.
• Hair Transplantation: Accelerated hair loss or shock fall out. Donor site scarring, unnatural appearance in hair growth and all other complications related to surgery. Note: anyone performing follicular unit transplantation at a superior level will not experience most of these side effects.