Bernstein Medical Blog

This page contains all posts in our News, Answers, Video, and Research sections.

Page 71 of 93
<
1
...
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
...
93
>

Can Hair Loss in Women Come from Hair Dye?

September 15th, 2006

Q: I am a 48 year old woman. Since I have used a new hair dye, I seem to be going bald. Is this possible?

A: Dying hair is a very common practice and hair loss in women who are 48 years old is also very common. The fact that the two have occurred together does not necessarily imply that there is a cause and effect relationship.

Women who are already losing hair often go to a great deal of effort to disguise this fact with dying, bleaching, and perming. These procedures, particularly if too aggressive, or done too frequently, can cause weakening and increased fragility of the hair shaft and increased hair breakage may result. This is more common if the hair is already fine in texture. This breakage is frequently interpreted as “hair loss” and it certainly does result in a significant loss of hair bulk, although the follicle itself is not damaged.

When there is a relationship between hair dye and hair loss in women, it is usually an inflammatory/allergic or irritant reaction. If severe, there may be an actual burn. In these cases, there would be a history of redness and swelling. An inflammatory reaction could cause hair loss but it would be unusual to damage follicles enough to produce scarring – although this occasionally does occur. A scalp biopsy is often helpful to sort out these cases.

Is Finpecia a Viable Hair Loss Medication?

September 14th, 2006

Q: A friend of mine is taking Finpecia, is this the same as Propecia? — A.B., St. Louis, Missouri

A: Both Propecia and Finpecia contain the active ingredient Finasteride 1mg. Finpecia is manufactured in India by the company Cipla. It comes in packets of 10. Finpecia contains the same chemical ingredient as Propecia, i.e. 1mg of Finasteride, but it is manufactured differently and it is less expensive.

Indian patent law allows companies in India to make medications that are patented by drug companies in other countries, since Indian law protects only the processes by which drugs are made and not medication itself. Therefore, if an Indian company finds another way to make a drug, it can legally do so.

Cipla has not published any studies showing that their generic Finasteride is identical or as effective as Merck’s original product in treating hair loss. These alternative processes and drugs are not regulated by the FDA, so there is no assurance that the medication manufactured in India has the same biologic activity or potency as the FDA approved counterpart made in the United States.

Is Asymmetrical Hair Loss from Telogen Effluvium or Androgenetic Alopecia?

September 12th, 2006

Q: Over the past three months, my hair seems to be thinning more on one side. Is it common in male pattern hair loss for it to be more on one side? I had a lot of stress about three months ago and have heard that this could be the cause. Is this possible? Should I use Rogaine to treat it? — B.R., Landover, MD

A: Regardless of the cause, hair loss is usually not perfectly symmetric. This applies to male pattern hair loss as well.

In your case, it is important to distinguish between telogen effluvium (shedding that can be due to stress) and hereditary or common baldness. The three month interval from the stressful period to the onset of hair loss is characteristic telogen effluvium, but you may have androgenetic alopecia as an underlying problem.

The two conditions are differentiated by identifying club hairs in telogen effluvium and miniaturized hair in androgenetic alopecia. In addition, a hair pull will be positive in telogen effluvium (when a clump of hair is grasped with the fingers, more than five hairs pull out of the scalp at one time) and will be negative in common baldness. The hair loss diagnosis can be made by a dermatologist.

Hair cuts do not affect either condition.

Rogaine (Minoxidil) is only effective in androgenetic hair loss and only marginally so. Finasteride is the preferred treatment if your hair loss is genetic when it is early and a hair transplant may be indicated if the hair loss progresses.

Shedding from telogen effluvium is reversible and does not require specific treatment.

What Causes Patch of Hair Loss in Women?

September 7th, 2006

Q: I am a 34 year woman with a patch of hair loss by my temple. I went to the salon to have my hair done and to my surprise my hairdresser told me that I have Alopecia? First time I’d heard of it, my G.P is not very concerned about it but having read so much about it on this site I am becoming a bit concerned. The rest of my hair is healthy any suggestions and diagnosis? — M.V., Williamsburg, Brooklyn

A: “Alopecia” is just a generic term for any kind of hair loss.

It sounds like you have a specific condition called alopecia areata. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that presents with the sudden appearance of well localized bald spot(s) on the scalp or other parts of the body. The underlying skin is always normal.

The treatment is injections with cortisone. Hair transplant surgery is not indicated for this condition.

You should see a dermatologist to confirm the diagnosis and treat.

Other diagnoses to consider are triangular alopecia (which would have been present since childhood) and traction alopecia (that is cased by constant tugging on the hair).

Hair Transplant Society Names Dr. Bernstein ‘Pioneer of the Month’

September 1st, 2006

In 1995, a surgeon just entering the field of hair transplantation became aware of these natural “follicular units” and came to believe that they should be the building blocks for all hair transplants. His name was Bob Bernstein.

Is Hair Loss Treatment with Avodart Safe?

September 1st, 2006

Q: My friend is taking Avodart, he bought it over the internet. Is it safe to take? — T.G., Denver, Colorado

A: Avodart (dutasteride 0.5mg) was approved by the FDA for the treatment of prostate enlargement in men in 2002. Avodart has not been approved for the treatment of androgenetic hair loss, although physicians can use an approved medication in ways other than for which it was specifically approved. That said, the use of dutasteride certainly requires a doctor’s supervision.

Is Hair Loss in Men Caused by Elevated Testosterone Levels?

August 25th, 2006

Q: I was told that if men have a lot of testosterone that that’s when they lose hair. Is this true? — Y.B., Lake Forest, Illinois

A: Although androgenetic hair loss is dependent upon normal levels of testosterone, it is not due to increased testosterone. It is caused by a sensitivity of the follicles to normal levels of testosterone.

So someone that is bald doesn’t have extra levels of male hormones and is not necessarily over-sexed.

Was Propecia Originally for Treatment of Prostate Enlargement?

August 21st, 2006

Q: I heard that Propecia was being used originally for shrinking the prostate, is this true? — M.D., New Hyde Park, N.Y.

A: Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is not a prostate medication that was serendipitously noted to have a side effect of re-growing hair, it is a medication that was known all along that it might be able to slow hair loss and/or to grow hair.

Although finasteride was first approved for the treatment of prostate enlargement, the researchers at Merck knew, at the outset, that there were families whose members were deficient in the 5-alpha reductase Type II enzyme and that the men in these families neither developed prostate disease nor went bald. In addition they had no long-term problems from the lack of this enzyme.

Merck used this natural model to develop a medication that could block the 5-alpha reductase Type II enzyme – the result was finasteride. Because the only approved treatment for symptoms related to prostate enlargement at the time was surgery, Merck developed finasteride as a medical treatment for this condition prior to developing finasteride as a potential treatment for men with male pattern hair loss.

This also meant that Merck would understand the safety profile of finasteride, and have it approved for a medical disease (symptomatic prostate enlargement), before developing it for a cosmetic condition.

The drug was first submitted to the FDA for the treatment of prostate enlargement as Proscar (finasteride 5mg) in 1991 and it was approved for this use in 1992. The drug was submitted for the treatment of men with male pattern hair loss as Propecia (finasteride 1mg) in 1996 and was approved for this use in 1997.

Can Women Experience Hair Loss from Hormone Replacement Therapy with Testosterone?

August 18th, 2006

Q: Dr. Bernstein, a lot of older women are taking testosterone to restore libido, but are they going to suffer hair loss as a consequence?

A: They can. In women there is a delicate balance between the androgens, i.e. testosterone and estrogens. Estrogen is protective to some degree against hair loss in women, which is why most women don’t experience such severe hair loss as do men.

When a woman takes testosterone supplements it upsets that balance and can cause hair loss. However, hair loss in post-menopausal women is usually due to age related changes. Typically, the hair decreases in size in a genetically determined progression that seems not to be directly related to changes in the levels of hormones.

For more information, please see the Causes of Hair Loss in Women page on the Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration website.

How Does Densitometry Help Diagnose Hair Loss?

August 17th, 2006

Q: Dr. Bernstein, I was reading about a densitometer on your website. What is it and what is it actually used for? — Z.A., Westchester, NY

A: The hair densitometer was introduced to hair restoration surgeons by Dr. Rassman in 1993. It is a small, portable, instrument that has a magnifying lens and an opening of 10mm2.

To use it, the doctor clips the hair short (~ 1-mm) and the instrument is then placed on the scalp. The doctor counts the total number of hairs in the field, looks at the number of hairs per follicular unit and assesses the diameter of the hair, looking in particular for abnormal levels of miniaturization (decreased hair shaft diameter caused by the effects of DHT).

The densitometer can increase the accuracy of the diagnosis of genetic hair loss by picking up early miniaturization.

It can also better assess a person’s donor hair supply, thus helping to determine which patients are candidates for a hair transplant.

Densitometry has helped us define the conditions of diffuse patterned and unpatterned hair loss (DPA and DUPA) and help to refine the diagnosis of hair loss in women.

Page 71 of 93
<
1
...
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
...
93
>