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Br J Dermatol 2002 Nov;147(5):982-4
There is no clear association between low serum ferritin and chronic diffuse telogen hair loss.
BACKGROUND: Low iron stores are considered a possible cause of chronic diffuse telogen hair loss in women. Estimation of serum ferritin is recommended as part of the initial assessment when women present with chronic diffuse telogen hair loss, and iron supplementation therapy is commonly recommended for those found to have low iron stores. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between low serum ferritin (=20 micro g L-1) and chronic diffuse telogen hair loss in women. METHODS: Between 1997 and 1999, 194 consecutive women who presented to a specialist hair clinic were assessed for diffuse telogen hair loss of greater than 6 months duration. All underwent biochemical investigations that included serum ferritin and had two 4-mm punch biopsies taken from the vertex of the scalp. One biopsy was sectioned horizontally and the other vertically. RESULTS: Twelve women were found to have a serum ferritin of 20 micro g L-1 or less (6.2%). Androgenetic alopecia was found on scalp biopsy in seven of these 12 women, while the other five women had normal histology. The five women with low iron stores and normal histology were treated with iron supplementation alone. This was continued until the serum ferritin was > 20 micro g L-1. Cessation or reversal of hair loss was not seen in any of these women. CONCLUSIONS: No direct relationship between low serum ferritin and hair loss can be established. The usefulness of serum ferritin in the routine investigation of women with chronic diffuse telogen hair loss is unclear, as is the role of iron supplementation therapy in the management of hair loss.
Ann Dermatol Venereol 2002 May;129(5 Pt 2):801-3
Androgenetic alopecia
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the combined result of an androgen-dependent process and genetic transmission. These characteristics have mainly, if not exclusively, been demonstrated in men and perhaps improperly extended to women. When considering the androgen-dependent process, AGA must only be limited to the androgen receptor areas. In the scalp, these receptors have only been detected in the frontal and vertex areas but never in the temporal or the occipital areas. Male AGA exhibits these clinical features, whereas in women hair loss is rarely limited to this localization, even when large areas of hair loss often appear with age. It is now commonly accepted that male AGA is associated with an increase in 5 alpha reductase activity leading to an increase in local production of dihydrotestosterone. The mechanism by which the local dihydrotestosterone increase leads to hair follicle loss is not clearly demonstrated. Inhibition of cell proliferation in the dermal papilla and a vascular process based on the inhibition in local production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been proposed. The increase in 5 alpha reductase activity is genetic and depends on androgen receptor polymorphism, characterized by a decrease in the number of CAG sequences on the exon 1. Male AGA is associated with an insulin-resistant process and to a higher risk of polycystic ovary in the lineage. Therapeutically, this hormone-dependent process explains the well demonstrated efficacy of 5 alpha reductase inhibitors. In women, except in some rare cases, alopecia is diffuse and the mechanisms are different. Their origin is unknown, and probably ambiguous. Based on an association with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an auto-immune origin could be suggested in some cases. Alopecia is unaffected by thyroid substitution. Pharmacological doses of oestrogens (pregnancy, contraception) have a beneficial effect on such alopecia, probably through different mechanisms: anti-androgen effect, increased VEGF, proliferative effect of dermal papilla cells. However, it is important to mention that the dermal papilla has an aromatase, particularly in the occipital area, the activity of which has not been assessed in female alopecia. In practice 5 alpha reductase inhibitors are ineffective in women. It is likely that the predominance observed in the frontal and vertex areas, occasionally in elderly women, is a result of the two combined disorders, the almost physiological androgen-dependent hair loss combined with diffuse loss. Pharmacological doses of oestrogens associated with anti-androgen progesterone-like agents are widely used with positive results, but not demonstrated by clinical trials.
Zhongguo Xiu Fu Chong Jian Wai Ke Za Zhi 1999 Jan;13(1):28-30
The clinical application of scalp expansion in the repair of cicatricial baldness in children
OBJECTIVE: To introduce the clinical application of the expanded graft from scalp in the repair of cicatricial baldness in children. METHODS: 45 cases with baldness following burn from 1988 to 1998 were reported. All of these patients (age ranged from 5-11 years) were treated by soft tissue expander. RESULTS: 5 cases were followed up for 1-2 years, the clinical results showed that the result from the graft of scalp expansion was satisfactory, and the long-term follow-up revealed that the hair in expended area and that in normal area was almost the same except the orientation of hair distribution had some difference. CONCLUSION: The head scalp expansion might be the first choice in the repair of cicatricial baldness following burn.
Indian J Cancer 2000 Jun-Sep;37(2-3):95-104
Occurrence and severity of alopecia in patients on combination chemotherapy.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the occurrence and severity of alopecia resulting from combination chemotherapy on cancer patients. The study was conducted during the period 1994-1996 on 58 confirmed cases of malignancies attending the Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Mangalore, South India. The treatment regimens followed were standard protocols recommended for those malignancies and which are widely adopted. Specific drug combinations, their dosage and routes and schedules of administration were studied. The influence of 20 different treatment regimens, most of them in combination chemotherapy, were studied. The patients studied were not receiving any other medication which could have caused alopecia as observed in the present study. The pathophysiology of the hair, as influenced by the treatment regimens, were studied by examination of samples of the affected hairs under a Leica compound microscope. Alopecia was the most dominant side effect influencing 35 of the 58 patients undergoing the treatment (60%). The severity of alopecia was assessed by grouping them in four distinct grades. Specific drugs and their combinations causing varying degrees of severity were identified. The initiation of hair loss in different treatment regimens were analysed. It is seen that alopecia is an early manifestation of cutaneous side effects of cancer chemotherapy. In a majority of patients, the manifestation initiated after the first or the second cycle of administration of the rapeutic regimen, indicating a time interval of 1 to 8 weeks after the start of chemotherapy. Single agent drugs, when used alone or in combination with immunomodulator drugs seem to cause much less side effects, including alopecia, when compared to multiple drug regimens. Microscopic examination of the affected hair showed trichorrhexis, fragmentation, decrease in diameter and depigmentation of the hair shaft.
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