Alopecia Areata

Definition

Alopecia areata that is baldness in spots is considered as an autoimmune disease which results in hair loss from areas of the body, usually from the scalp. The immune system, which is designed to protect the body from foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria, mistakenly attacks the hair follicles. Hair loss can extend to eyebrows, eyelashes and facial and nasal hair and create more bald spots elsewhere in the body.

Types of alopecia areata such as Alopecia Areata monolocularis, Baldness in, Alopecia Areata totalis, Alopecia Areata universalis, Alopecia Areata barbae, Diffuse Alopecia Areata.

Causes of Alopecia Areata

The main causes of alopecia areata may includes:-

• Immune system cells called white blood cells attack the rapidly growing cells in the hair follicles, resulting in smaller follicles and immense reduction in hair production. Fortunately, the stem cells that continually supply the follicle with new cells do not seem to be targeted. So the follicle always has the potential to regrow hair.
• The disease is not contagious but may be hereditary.
• Exact cause of why the hair follicles undergo these changes is not known, but it is considered to be genetically passed or triggered.
• Stress may be the cause of Alopecia Areata but it is rarely observed.
• Alopecia areata is thought to be an autoimmune disease in which the body mistakenly treats its hair follicles as foreign tissue and suppresses or stops hair growth.

Symptoms of Alopecia Areata

The possible symptoms for alopecia areata may includes:-

• Quite often the bald patch or patches re-grow hair within a few months. If hair grows back it may not have its usual colour at first and looks grey or white for a while. The usual colour eventually returns after several months.
• The nails are affected.
• The hair stops growing and then falls out from the roots.
• Some people become self-conscious, anxious or distressed by the appearance of the hair loss.
• Sometimes several small bald patches develop and merge into a larger bald area.
• Hairs that look like exclamation points are sometime seen at the edges of a bald patch.
• The primary symptom of alopecia areata roundish patches of hair loss on the head, with smooth, hairless scalp in the affected areas. Symptoms can vary from bald patches, to complete scalp baldness, to loss of all scalp and body hair. People with this condition are otherwise in generally good health.

Treatment of Alopecia Areata

The effective treatments for alopecia areata may include:-

• Corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatory drugs foe reducing the illness.
• Fasalazine which is a sulfa drug, is used as a treatment for different autoimmune disorders.
• Injections of steroids directly into hairless patches on the scalp is good treatment.
• Patchy alopecia areata generally clears up on its own within several months to several years.
• Some patients of alopecia areata respond well to drugs that promote hair regrowth, containing minoxidil and finasteride.
• A cream or ointment containing anthralin has also been found to stimulate new hair growth in those with mild cases of alopecia areata.