What is Alopecia? [SIGNS, CAUSES & CURE]

Alopecia simply means hair loss, for any reason whatsoever, from areas of body where in normal circumstances it is supposed to grow. Alopecia has many different types but broadly any kind of hair loss is called Alopecia. There are multiple causes of hair loss in men. Alopecia when occurs due to androgen and genetics, is also called androgenetic alopecia. Genetic predisposition to lose hair in a typical pattern and in a typical area is identified as androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness. The most common affected areas for Alopecia in men include the frontal hair line and the crown. Losing hair from the front recedes the hairline, due to which forehead appears bigger and an “M” shaped hairline is formed. Gradually, the hair line keeps receding, if not controlled at the initial stage ultimately it becomes bald. Similar phase occurs at the crown area as well.

Causes for Alopecia :-

1.  First is genetic predisposition. It means, whenever in family anybody is having baldness, keep in mind the extended family to be included in the family as well, that means father, grandfather, uncle, brother, or from maternal side maternal uncle or maternal grandfather or any other maternal brother, etc. as the same gene is carried out in you as well, chances of you to experience similar pattern is quite high. So, does it mean that one can't have androgenetic alopecia because no one else in one’s family has it. Well, in reality, since multiple genes are involved, a person may have inherited some from the mother and some from the father, and then the combination has the ability to cause it.

Every male has an androgen hormone, called testosterone. This testosterone is converted into dihydrotestosterone also known as DHT. The person who is having androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness has a receptor in his scalp, which is called DHT receptor, and with this receptor, the DHT gets attached.

Once attached,  it causes premature shortening of the anagen phase or the growing phase of the hair. And then slowly as the anagen phase is completed, the growth of the hair also stops. Subsequently, the hair enters the telogen phase which is the final stage in the lifecycle of hair. Due to the action of DHT these hairs do not grow continuously and prematurely they enter the final stage of their lifecycle, they slowly become thinned out, and finally shed off. The hair once shed off in this manner does not come back. This is called androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness which forms the major cause of hair loss in men.

2. Another reason for Alopecia in men is telogen effluvium, it is basically an acute increase in shedding which is experienced whenever a person is under stress, the stress can be of any form, the stress of work, mental stress or physical stress due to which the person may experience volumes of hair shedding at a time. However, this is temporary and the hair loss in such cases can be grown back. Many people get scared when they notice their hair coming out with small bulb like structure attached to it, which actually is the root, but that’s perfectly fine as that particular hair life cycle has ended and new hair will grow out. Breakages however, should be alarming.

3. Another important cause is nutritional deficiency. Whenever there is a lack of proper nutrition, the body focusses more on supplying limited nutrition to the vital parts of the body and in such cases, hair becomes secondary as the body thinks that it can survive without hair! Nowadays there is a trend of severe dieting as well as various types of strenuous exercise which if not accompanied by proper diet may lead to hair loss in men.

4. Additionally, another important cause is a hormonal disorder. Males suffering from thyroid, hypothyroid or other hormonal disorders are susceptible to hair loss as well.

Treatment :-

The most common treatment for hair loss in men are two main solutions, both of  which have been proving its worth for the last 25 to 30 years. These FDA approved two main treatment modalities include oral finasteride and topical minoxidil, these two form the mainstay of treatment for major types of baldness in men. Finasteride fights against the DHT and Minoxidil improves the blood flow to the scalp.

Now coming to minoxidil, for it to work a person must give it some time. So if you try it for one month, and it didn't do anything, well, it was not supposed to do anything in one month. This takes about six months to have an effect. Additionally, sometimes you can't see the effect because it keeps the hair loss from getting worse instead of growing new hair. So you might not see any growth of hair but that doesn't mean it's not working at all.

If you want to maintain the benefit that you're getting from it, you have to keep using it. Actually Minoxidil improves vascularity in the scalp area. With proper blood flowing to the hair follicles the chances of them living longer increases.

Finasteride is recommended for men with alopecia. Propecia is the trade name of it. It mostly prevents worsening of the hair loss just like Minoxidil, but sometimes it does improve regrowth as well. It is basically a DHT blocker that restricts the activities of DHT on the susceptible hair follicles and prevents its action over it.

Minoxidil combined with Finasteride can tackle alopecia effectively.

Another fancy treatment is the laser Comber or laser helmet. It is effective for people with thinning hair as it helps to improve and reduce the amount of shedding or helps reduce the overall loss of hair. Some people like the helmet more than the comb because of its convenience. This kind of set up is also offered  by number of clinics where they have helmets or machines that are like this, you can go a couple of times in a week to get the treatments. But if you own one, it is nice and convenient.

When it comes to vitamins and supplements Iron and vitamin D are extremely essential. Both of these are necessary for normal hair cycling. Excessive Vitamin D may worsen hair loss so do keep that in check. Biotin Tablets are also popular to help inhibit receding hairline.

Now, if you want some prolong treatment that can give evident results in most of the cases you should contemplate about hair transplant as an option. It doesn't work for telogen effluvium which is simply shedding of hair in large volumes due to some kind of stress, as the hair lost in such cases are expected to come back after period of few months, so hair transplant is not needed in such a case. Also if a person has alopecia areata which is an autoimmune disease and is a subtype of alopecia, where hair loss is observed in circular patches across the scalp, hair transplant is not recommended but proper consultation with a physician is required.
In hair transplant surgeons usually take a strip of healthy hair, generally from the backside of the scalp which for some reason tend to stay immune from the actions of DHT and is planted into the areas where baldness is experienced. And for whatever reason the hairs remember where they came from and they grow as if they're growing in the back of the scalp. Eventually they grow nice and thick just like they did before! 

Conclusion :-

There are number of ways to fight alopecia and postpone its affects. With advancements in the medical field it has now become easier to deal with such situations. So, don’t get worried about it a lot, instead take actions to fight it.