Research into Hair Loss

Seeing hair loss in patients is demoralising for the medical profession.  Feeling relatively helpless with limited treatment options, it is usually simply a case of reassuring patients their symptoms are not serious, and will subside within a few months as hair regrowth takes its course.  Having said that, there is a great deal known about the causes of hair loss, allowing for particularly effective diagnosis of the varying degrees and types of the condition, which is opening the doorway to new treatments for patients suffering from these symptoms.

For conditions like folliculitis which cause hair damage and hair loss, there is a great deal of progress being made on the medicinal front, with new treatments under investigation to sooth and curb the scalp irritation and sores which cause the hair loss.  Furthermore, research is underway into further underlying causes of the condition, and the impact of personal stress and trauma and a potential link between the two.  The same can be said for alopecia areata, for which researchers are focusing efforts into finding more effective treatments for the root causes, rather than the present symptomatic treating medicines. 

Likewise, research funds are being ploughed into areas such as the chemical causes of hair loss, and the logic behind TE, whereby hair is forced into early resting phase as a result of some form of stress of great discomfort.  It is also of interest to see the progress of hair during this resting phase, and to learn more about the natural hair growth cycle and how certain hair loss symptoms interact with that.

Also under scrutiny is the potential for reversing the TE phase, to retain hair, which is a phenomenon often caused by hormonal imbalances in pregnant women,  Although this raw link is obviously problematic, research is being conducted into potential ways to help patients with these symptoms through similar hormones responsible for retaining hair.

In the mean time, patients can take comfort knowing that wig technology is advancing at an ever increasing rate.  Wigs, which were before uncomfortable and of poor quality, are now becoming more and more effective and user-friendly, with synthetic fibrous technologies working to ensure a more realistic appearance.  They are also now significantly less irritating to the scalp, which until recently was a problem for many.  It is reassuring to think of the realism in five or ten years, by which time there will hopefully be some form of more effective treatment for the underlying causes of these symptoms.

If you are at all curious about hair loss, or the various conditions from which you may be suffering, a good starting point would be the internet.  There are vast amounts of information present surrounding conditions, their treatments and current research which should serve to further inform you about developments with your condition.  Alternatively, your doctor will be able to advise on suitable current treatments, and give information on potentially new treatments for these symptoms, and the conditions which ultimately cause their presence.

 

Hair Loss News On The Web

Cutting Hair For A Good Cause (WTVO - WQRF Rockford)
Belvidere- A Belvidere salon cut long hair for a good cause. TrendZ held its second annual cut-a-thon. Anyone with hair longer then eight inches got it cut for free. The hair is donated to the organization, children with hair loss.

Don’t wash that hair right outta that head (Tacoma News Tribune)
Hair loss is partly genetic and partly linked to age, but professional stylists say there are ways to slow down the process – or at least to look less bald.

Wigging out: salon excites cancer patients (KVBC Las Vegas)
It's projected that nearly 1.5 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2008. More than half will be women. Side effects from treatment include physical symptoms like hair loss.

Gene Menez: Big 12 QBs dominate Heisman Watch (Sports Illustrated)
Is it Daniel-Bradford-McCoy? Or is it McCoy-Daniel-Bradford? Or is it some other combination? Since the start of the season, separating these three quarterbacks has been a hair-splitting exercise. But finally, after six weeks of lighting up vastly inferior foes, The Watch's top three quarterbacks will face each other in a mini round robin the next two weeks. Sam Bradford and No. 1 Oklahoma meet ...

Mother's Fight With Breast Cancer Inspires Business Woman To Develop New Product (PRWeb via Yahoo! News)
When Marquetta Breslin watched her mother's hair loss during her battle with breast cancer, she was determined to figure out a way to help women facing the same challenges.

St. Thomas More preparing for another dogfight (The Lafayette Daily Advertiser)
If the St. Thomas More Lady Cougars are involved in too many more games like the ones they've been in the past two weeks with the ESA Lady Falcons and Barbe, head coach Julie Dawson may see her blonde hair turn gray pretty soon.

On the scales: Active teen girls, recipes (Tucson Citizen)
PHOENIX - New studies that target Americans' expanding waistline were presented this weekend at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, an organization of researchers and weight-loss professionals. They include:

Omaha confounds MIAA expectations (St. Joseph News-Press)
Missouri Western coach Jerry Partridge said Monday he came within “a hair trigger” of picking Nebraska-Omaha as his No. 1 team in the MIAA coaches’ preseason poll this year. Instead, Partridge cast his lot with Northwest Missouri State — along with five other conference coaches.

Sunday shockers for fantasy footballers (The Facts)
There were a few surprises Sunday on NFL fields. Either fantasy players are pulling their hair out, or they are celebrating what now looks like a smart move for their teams.

The hidden health risks for children of sperm donors (Daily Mail)
At a recent reunion of relatives on her mother's side, Kathleen Ruby's cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles ranged from 5ft 10in to 6ft 5in, with dark hair and brown eyes. Most were party-loving extroverts.