Alopecia is an autoimmune condition associated with the loss of hair or body hair, both in men and women, which can be caused by several factors. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of actor Will Smith, decided to adopt shaved hair because of the disorder.
This Sunday (27), Will Smith assaulted comedian Chris Rock with a slap in the face during the 2022 Oscars awards ceremony, held in Los Angeles, United States. Rock made a joke involving Smith’s wife’s shaved head.
In this Monday’s edition (28) of the Medical Correspondentfrom Novo Dia, neurosurgeon Fernando Gomes addressed the main characteristics of alopecia.
“The causes can be genetic, inflammatory or stress-related. We have androgenetic and areata types. Androgenetics is very common in men, this condition that the entrances are getting more prominent, the crown is getting thinner”, he explains.
“Areata is that condition in which the immune system somehow recognizes the hair follicle and ends up attacking it, leading to hair loss in specific regions or even in a more diffuse way, it has a great correlation with situations where there is stress or neuropsychiatric conditions”, completes Gomes.
alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is an inflammatory disease that causes hair loss. According to the Brazilian Society of Dermatology, several factors are involved in development, such as genetics and autoimmune participation.
The characteristics of the condition vary with each person. The extent of hair loss can be greater or lesser for each patient. In rare cases of total alopecia areata, the individual loses all the hair on the head. In alopecia areata universalis, hair all over the body falls out.
Emotional factors, physical trauma and infectious conditions can trigger or worsen the condition. The basic symptom is sudden hair loss, with rounded areas, single or multiple, without other changes.
According to the Brazilian Society of Dermatology, when the hair is born again it can be white, returning later to normal color.
Treatment can be performed with drugs such as minoxidil, corticosteroids and anthralin, in combination with more aggressive treatments such as sensitizers (diphencyprone) or methotrexate. The choice for each type of intervention must be performed by the physician with the aim of controlling the disease, reducing failures and preventing the emergence of new ones.
“Oral medications somehow stimulate blood flow in this region and also stimulate hair follicle recovery; topical remedies, such as anti-inflammatory substances or substances that end up interfering with the conversion of the hormone in the head, and psychotherapy, considering that this result is not always quickly and satisfactorily”, explains Gomes.
As the causes are unknown, there are no ways to prevent the condition. Although the disease is not clinically serious, it can affect the emotional state, indicating the need to seek psychological care.
Androgenetic alopecia or baldness
Androgenetic alopecia, the technical name for baldness, is related to genetically determined hair loss. Both men and women are affected by baldness, which becomes more apparent from the age of 40 or 50.
According to the Brazilian Society of Dermatology, the disease develops since adolescence, when the hormonal stimulus appears and makes the strands progressively thinner in each hair cycle.
Thinner hair is the main symptom of baldness. In men, the most open areas are the crown and frontal region, known as the typical “entries”. In women, the central region is more affected.
Treatment can be done with products that stimulate hair growth, such as minoxidil and hormonal blockers, with the aim of interrupting the process and recovering part of the hair.
Hormone blockers are oral medications, including finasteride for men and birth control pills, spironolactone and cyproterone for women.
Despite genetics, factors can worsen baldness, such as menopause and the use of male hormone supplementation.
Source: CNN Brasil