Alopecia Areata Essay

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Alopecia Areata is a widespread autoimmune disease that attack our hair follicles. It starts out as one or a couple of bald spots primarily on the scalp, but could happen anywhere on the body. Total hair loss from the scalp could be a factor, which is called alopecia totalis, or complete body hair loss called alopecia universalis. Alopecia areata can occur at any age in males and females, but primarily from most cases, it initially gets profound in childhood. So far, over 6.6 million Americans suffer from the disease, and over 147 million people have, or have had the disease sometime in their lifetime (“What”). The diseases effects are different in all individuals. Some people could have only a few quarter sized smooth spots here and there, …show more content…

In the early 1800’s it was initially briefed the causes of alopecia areata, which highlighted a series of hypothesis of just how the disease developed. One theory, suggested that the disease was from some sort of parasitic infection. This theory came into development because of the fact that the formation of a local infection presumes in a localized area but then over a period of time infects a much larger mass, which is how alopecia had developed. Another theory that came into terms was the possibility of the disease being linked to some type of nervous disorder. Better known as the trophoneurotic hypothesis, this theory gained much attention at the time due to that most of the clinical observations that dealt with emotional and physical stress, all had primarily cases of alopecia. Emotional stress and physical damage are believed to cause adverse effects against our hair follicles which become targets for our body’s nervous system, which then triggers the immune system to attack the hair cells responsible for our hair growth. It was not until the late twentieth century that alopecia areata was discovered to be associated with disorders of the endocrine glands, more specifically the thyroid gland (“What”). Many medical professionals at the time had suggested that the underlying cause of the disease was due …show more content…

Inflammatory cells, studied for over 100 years were thought to have been the case. But not until the 1960’s the inflammatory autoimmune disease theory became popular. An autoimmune disease is when an individual’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissue cells for a foreign invader. There are currently three main types of alopecia areata, Alopecia Areata, which causes patchy hair loss primarily on the scalp, but could be elsewhere on the body, Alopecia Totalis, which is a more advanced stage of areata, which results in total hair loss from the scalp and Alopecia Universalis which is the most advanced stage of alopecia which results in total hair loss from the body, including eyelashes and eyebrows. Alopecia areata does not cause permanent hair loss and there is small chance of possibility of hair regrowth. In many cases, it has been noted that many patients experience hair loss and regrowth throughout their lifetime. Full regrowth becomes less likely if the progression of areata reaches totalis or especially universalis. In relation with endocrine disorders, severe hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism have been linked with causing severe hair loss. Normally the extension of the hair loss is extensive and proceeds to the entire scalp, it does not normally cause localized patches. Certain hormonal imbalances also play a role in alopecia as well. In females primarily, the main factor that causes

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