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Effects on Hair Growth of Drugs

05.10.2009 in HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

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Many drugs or medicines, whether taken for treatment of ailments or taken for pleasure have a harmful effect on the growth cycle of hair. A few such as Tetracyclines which are a group of antibiotics may actually slightly increase hair growth but not enough to be worthwhile.

Amphetamines may cause diffuse hair thinning by upsetting the metabolism. Boric acid which is sometimes used in mouthwashes may if used too often cause a gradually increasing diffuse hair loss due to high levels of boron in the system.

Excessive intake of Vitamin A can cause severe hair loss as well as symptoms similar to arthritis in the joints. For this reason most countries now restrict the maximum concentration of Vitamin A which may be brought from health food stores or pharmacies without medical prescription.

Nicotine from cigarette smoking and Marajuana can cause hair loss by their effects on blood circulation and yellowing of grey hair. Excessive alcohol intake may cause loss of hair by lowering mineral and vitamin levels. A build up in the system of toxic minerals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, aluminium, boron, barium, antimony, mercury and silver will also adversely affect hair growth causing other and more serious systemic effects at the same time. Fortunately high concentrations of these are rare and usually affect those people working continuously with these minerals without the necessary safeguards which are covered by Health and Safety Regulations in most countries.

Apart from the list of known and proven toxic reactions from drug or mineral intake, a very large number of medications may in certain circumstances cause adverse effects including hair loss, skin rashes and reactions upon various organs of the body. No drug or medicine is completely without risk or side effect. Many drugs particularly those mentioned above may cause the hair to change colour either to grey or in the case of some minerals such as copper salts, blond hair may turn green. Since these salts are frequently used to prevent algae growth in swimming pools, immersion of blond hair plus the oxidising effects of sunlight can produce a very disagreeable khaki-green colour which is very difficult to remove.

A number of drugs applied to the skin surface (topical drugs) may also cause hair colour changes by staining. Dithranol (Anthracene) for treating Psoriasis and Alopecia Areata may often stain dark brown. Minoxidil may darken hair if being regularly applied to improve hair growth. Hydroquinone which is sometimes used for skin lightening in pigment disorders may cause lightening or hair as a side effect.

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Evolutionary theories of Male Pattern Baldness

05.10.2009 in MALE HAIR LOSS

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One theory, advanced by Muscarella and Cunningham, suggests baldness evolved in males through sexual selection as an enhanced signal of aging and social maturity, whereby aggression and risk-taking decrease and nurturing behaviours increase. This may have conveyed a male with enhanced social status but reduced physical threat, which could enhance ability to secure reproductive partners and raise offspring to adulthood.

In a study by Muscarella and Cunnhingham, males and females viewed 6 male models with different levels of facial hair (beard and mustache or none) and cranial hair (full head of hair, receding and bald). Participants rated each combination on 32 adjectives related to social perceptions. Males with facial hair and those with bald or receding hair were rated as being older than those who were clean-shaven or had a full head of hair. Beards and a full head of hair were seen as being more aggressive and less socially mature, and baldness was associated with more social maturity. A review of social perceptions of male pattern baldness has been provided by Henss (2001).

The assertion that male pattern baldness is intended to convey a social message is supported by the fact that pattern baldness is also common in other primates, and is often used to convey increased status and maturity. Gorillas evolved anatomically enlarged foreheads for this reason. This suggests that baldness could have evolved to enhance the apparent size of the forehead, and increase the area of the face to be displayed. It should also be noted that most ancestry primates had a shorter life-span, and as baldness usually occurs at a later stage in life, baldness could have been a sign of survival and longevity. Premature baldness could also have evolved in younger males to convey this message, which correlates with studies suggesting men with bald or receding hairlines were rated as older than those with a full head of hair.

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Hair loss and lifestyle

02.10.2009 in HAIR LOSS FACTS

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While genetic factors seem to play the principal role in the development and progression of androgenic alopecia, lifestyle also plays a minor role as demonstrated by the vast increase in male and female pattern baldness in Japan after World War II Pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia) was either rare or non-existent among hunter-gatherer and other, less westernized societies eating in their traditional manner.

One study did show that free testosterone is lower 24 hours after intense aerobic exercise in men who already have high endurance but it was not investigated whether that level remains lowered beyond that point, or whether that lowering affects male pattern baldness in any way. It has been suggested that weight training may have a detrimental effect on hair by increasing testosterone levels; however, there is at least one study that indicates a decline in free testosterone as result of weight training.

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Hormone levels correlated with androgenic alopecia

02.10.2009 in HAIR LOSS FACTS, HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

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Men with androgenic alopecia typically have lower levels of total testosterone, higher levels of unbound/free testosterone, and higher levels of total free androgens including DHT.

5-alpha-reductase is responsible for converting free testosterone into DHT. The genes for 5-alpha-reductase are known. The enzymes are present predominantly in the scalp and prostate. Levels of 5alpha-reductase are one factor in determining levels of DHT in the scalp and drugs which interfere with 5alpha-reductase (such as finasteride, which inhibits the predominant type 2 isoform) have been approved by the FDA as treatments for hair loss.

Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which is responsible for binding testosterone and preventing its bioavailability and conversion to DHT, is typically lower in individuals with high DHT. SHBG is downregulated by insulin.

Increased levels of Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) have been correlated to vertex balding.

High insulin levels seem the likely link between metabolic syndrome and baldness. Low levels of SHBG in men and non-pregnant women are also correlated with glucose intolerance and diabetes risk, though this correlation disappears during pregnancy.

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Hair loss and genetics

02.10.2009 in HAIR LOSS FACTS, HAIR LOSS SCIENCE

Much research has gone into the genetic component of male pattern baldness, or androgenic alopecia (AGA). Research indicates that susceptibility to premature male pattern baldness is largely X-linked. Other genes that aren’t sex linked are also involved.

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Large studies in 2005 and 2007 stress the importance of the maternal line in the inheritance of male pattern baldness. German researchers name the androgen receptor gene as the cardinal prerequisite for balding. They conclude that a certain variant of the androgen receptor is needed for AGA to develop. In the same year the results of this study were confirmed by other researchers. This gene is recessive and a female would need two X chromosomes with the defect to show typical male pattern alopecia. Seeing that androgens and their interaction with the androgen receptor are the cause of AGA it seems logical that the androgen receptor gene plays an important part in its development.

Other research in 2007 suggests another gene on the X chromosome, that lies close to the androgen receptor gene, is an important gene in male pattern baldness. They found the region Xq11-q12 on the X-chromosome to be strongly associated with AGA in males. They point at the EDA2R gene as the gene that is mostly associated with AGA.

Other genes involved with hair loss have been found. One of them being a gene on chromosome 3. The gene is located at 3q26. This gene is recessive.

Another gene that might be involved in hair loss is the P2RY5. This gene is linked to hair structure. Certain variants can lead to baldness at birth, while another variant causes “wooly hair.”

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In May 2009, researchers in Japan identified a gene, Sox21, that appears to be responsible for hair loss in people.

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