The term alopecia is confusing to most Women. The mystery around it never stops and the frustration with it continues. To define different types of Alopecia, it is important to understand the different phases of hair growth and hair life. This will also help in communicating your hair loss problem to the doctor.
There are three kinds of patchy alopecia: alopecia areata (the most common of the three) in which patches of scalp hair fall out; alopecia totalis in which all scalp hair is lost; and alopecia universalis in which all scalp and body hair are lost.
At anyone time, 0.05 percent to 0.10 percent of the population is affected by alopecia areata. That’s between 112,000 and 224,000 people in the United States and between 2.25 and +50 million worldwide.
Basically there are 3 phases in the life cycle of a hair. Human scalp typically has 1,50,000 follicles of hair and each one produces and sheds hair cyclically accordingly to the following three stages -
a) Anagen Phase—around 85-90% of your hair are always in Anagen phase and they grow like half inch each month . This is the “growth” phase. Medical conditions can affect the rate of hair growth.
b) Catagen Phase—- This refers to the transition of hair follicles from the growth phase(Anagen) to the Telogen phase ( Sleeping phase) . 2-3% of scalp follicles are in this catogen phase where hair stops growing.
c) Telogen Phase—– This is the sleeping or shedding stage of hair follicles. Duuring this stage hair fibre can be easily brought out via combing , brushing or during shampooing as hair sheds. About 10-15% of your hairs are in telogen phase and this phase continues for 30-90 days for each hair.
What exactly is hair loss?
Hair loss may be a process in which this cycle of anagen,catagen,telogen gets distributed so that the hair falls more rapidly that it grows. Hairs are pushed into the telogen phase more rapidly or other phases are either abandoned or distributed and prevented from normal functioning.
Shedding hair at the rate of 50-150 hair is normal. But exceeding this rate or when rate of hair loss exceeds the rate of re growth(angen phase) orif the re grown hair becomes thinner, falls out in patches, thinning or baldness occurs, then hair loss may become serious issue.
Alopecia Areata
Atopecia areata hair loss appears usually as round or patches that do not have hair. These patches can be found on scalp or any hair bearing part of the body. Experts claim that it is an auto-immune disorder that is caused by lymphocytes surrounding the hair follicles which results in abnormal differentiation and breakage of growing hair.
Typical cases of alopecia areata can be treated and hair will re grow back with moderate care. But more reverse cases of chronic alopecia areata can be more damaging. It can be caused by several “triggers”—-virus, autommune disorder and response, environmental factors, genes and so on, In different people, the trigger will be different.
Genetic factors sure play a role and increase the susceptibility of a person to Alopecia Areata. In fact 20% of patients suffering from Alopecia Areata have genetic factors against them. But if a person is above 35 who is suffering and had normal hair prior to age 35, it is highly likely that that his /her alopecia areata is not caused by genetic factors.
Alopecia Areata is complex situation , it has many causes some explained and can be damaging . it may strike people who are otherwise healthy and do not suffer from any other medical conditions. Even after years of treatment, the condition may “reappear” dramatically it is frustrating as sometimes the real trigger that causes it may not be known and even more frustrating when women suffer from it when they are under 20.
Cures and treatments are available but as said earlier, it all depends on the trigger that causes it so each individual case should be analyzed comprehensively. Research is still going on as medical professionals hope to get to the most effective cure for aloperia areata.
The exact cause of alopecia areata is not known, and it may take years for the condition to he fully understood. Currently, the prevailing theory is that it may he an autoimmune disorder, meaning that the immune system attacks something in the hody as if it were a foreign invader-in this case, hair follicles. The evidence for areata as an immune disease is entirely circumstantial: The fact that there is an immune system response at the hair follicles may suggest an immune disorder, yet scientists admit that this evidence comes nowhere near to proving the theory. If it’s not an immune disorder, what might cause alopecia arcata? The immune system may actually have a good reason to attack the follicles, one that just hasn’t been identified yet. For example, per haps in the follicles there is a virus or some other culprit.
One of the clues that this may not be an autoimmune disease is that the attacked tissue, the hair follicle, is not destroyed; it just stops producing hair above the scalp. The follicles still produce root material and often even hair, hut it’s too small and abnormal to work its way above the skin. In someone with alopecia areata, the hair follicles are said to be in a state called dystrophic anagen.
Alopecia areata may also he genetic. In 20 percent of the cases, there is a family history of the condition. It may also be linked to stress.
Alopecia arcata affects men and women equally at all ages, including childhood, and can occur gradually, first showing up as broken hairs that taper to a thinner end, or quickly, with a small, completely bald patch showing up within twenty-four hours.
There is no conclusive diagnostic test, and doctors typically rule out other causes and kinds of hair loss before diagnosing alopecia areata or alopecia totalis and universalis, which are progressions of alopecia areata. However, some people feel a tingling sensation or pain in conjunction with alopecia areata. Others feel nothing.
Alopecia areata research has been slow, and only in the last fifteen years have major attempts been made to understand and define it. Much of the interest has been sparked by the efforts of the National Alopecia Arcata Foundation. Still, only about twenty research groups worldwide are currently focusing on the condition, and there is little 1110ney available for research. Some of the current research is aimed at the genetics of alopecia areata and at developing new treatments.
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