Frequently Asked Questions About Alopecia

• What is Alopecia?
• What causes it?
• How common is it?
• Is it hereditary?
• Why did I get it?
• What treatments are available?
• What are the alternatives to treatment?
• When will my hair grow back?
• How can I get more information?
• Is there anything that will help me cope with the effects of alopecia?

What is Alopecia?

Alopecia is an autoimmune hair loss disease that affects men, women and children of any age. The onset of the hair loss is often sudden, random and frequently recurrent. The different types of alopecia are:
Alopecia Areata (al-oh-pea-shah r-e-ah-ta) (AA): Used to describe hair loss occurring in patches, usually small and round, anywhere on the body.
Alopecia Totalis (AT): Total loss of the hair on the scalp.
Alopecia Universalis (AU): Total loss of all hair on the body.
Androgenetic Alopecia: Male/Female pattern baldness (which is not auto-immune).
While the disease itself is not damaging to bodily health in any other way, apart from possible changes in the appearance of the nails, coping with hair loss can prove challenging.

What causes it?

The body’s immune system wrongly attacks the growing cells in the body’s hair-producing `follicles’, where the hair starts to grow. This stops them producing new hair and causes existing hair to fall out. The cells which produce the hair, the follicles, do still remain active so the potential for hair to start re-growing is always there. A person’s ethnic origin, social status, their sex or age has no apparent bearing on the likelihood of them suffering from Alopecia.

How common is it?

There are varying figures available, but it is commonly accepted that something approaching 1.7% of the population will have alopecia to some degree during their lifetime. This includes more than 4 million people in the United States, with both men and women being equally affected. About 25% of people with alopecia have a family history of the disorder (Bertolino, 2000).

Is it hereditary?

Susceptibility can be affected by hereditary (inherited) genes in as much as they are thought to influence the likelihood of getting Alopecia. About 25% of patients have a family history of the disorder (Bertolino, 2000). However, your genes alone are not going to make Alopecia occur. Neither are you going to pass on an `Alopecia gene’ to your children. It is thought that there is a combination of genes which predispose you to the condition, meaning it is possible you may have the symptoms at some point in your lifetime.

Why did I get it?

Over 20% of people with alopecia have a family member with it. If you have had eczema, asthma or a thyroid disease you are more prone to Alopecia. However, the majority of people with alopecia are not aware of being in either of these categories and susceptibility is then probably due to their combination of genes. Some studies show a link with stress or trauma.

What treatments are available?

There is no cure for alopecia and no universally proven therapy to induce hair re-growth and sustain remission. However, there are treatments. The effectiveness of treatments tends to vary and something that works well for one person may not work well for anothe