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Anyone who has had a problem with head hair loss knows how stressful it is. I certainly do because that happened to me a few years ago. I had been having a rash on my back for a few months associated with some gastro-esophageal reflux. With my long experience in seeing food reactions in others, I assumed it was a food reaction but was slow to get motivated to correct the situation. Slow, until one day I noticed a shiny bald area about 2x3 inches on the top right side of my head. This was immediately motivating and became, to me, a sub-acute medical emergency. I knew I had dawdled long enough and now had to get down to business.

 

Usually I order a food allergy test on myself yearly, but was now overdue. I began with a battery of blood tests, including an updated food allergy test. The results indicated a severe gluten intolerance. Immediately, there was no more gluten for me. Though the hair loss had motivated me, my rash disappeared within the week and I had no more esophageal reflux or GI symptoms. The best reward was that my hair came back.  Occasionally I test the limits by eating a little gluten and sure enough, each time there is a recurrence of the GI symptoms. I do not push the limits long enough to get the rash or hair loss recurrence. If you wonder if you may have food sensitivities, see my newsletter on the subject at https://www.thewayup.com/newsletters/021500.htm

 

The point of my personal story is that many cases of hair loss can be reversible.  It may well be worth the detective work required to see if it is.

 

Other than male pattern balding, the most common causes for hair loss I have seen in my particular medical career are drug side effects, iron deficiency, various other nutrient deficiencies,  thyroid or other hormone disorders, and adverse reactions to foods or substances (either topical or internal).

 

Hair is approximately 80 percent protein, and is made up of tough fibrous proteins called keratin. Keratin is composed of long chains of amino acids. These chains are found within the fibers of the cortex of the hair. The amino acids comprising these chains are  Cysteine (10-14%), Serine, Glutamic Acid, Lysine, Threonine, Glycine, Leucine, Valine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Alanine, Proline, Isoleucine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Histidine, Methionine.  Cysteine is by far the most abundant. A useful graphic of the composition of hair can be found at http://www.ajichem.com/en/products/amino-acids.aspx Sulfur bonds in the hair hold the chains of amino acids together. These same amino acids are the building blocks of skin and nails.  Amino acids , in general, are the building blocks of the entire body.

 

G. Harrap reported a study on the effect of age on hair root amino acid levels.  They concluded hair root  amino acid concentrations fall  by 32% from age 20 to 70 years of age.  We might conclude that aging does affect hair protein synthesis.  What would happen if there were no decline in protein synthesis  secondary to an increase in free form amino acid  precursor loading?  Am curious that I do not see more research on this as the hair loss industry is huge.

 

Deficiencies of the following nutrients  can be associated with hair loss: Biotin, Folic Acid, Vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, Inositol, Essential Fatty Acids, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Protein ( especially the amino acids L-cysteine, L-methionine, L-glutathione).

 

Excesses of Selenium and Vitamin A, Cadmium or Arsenic can cause hair loss.

 

Surgery and general illness can cause hair loss likely related to med side effects, nutrient deficiencies, and major stress.

 

Male pattern baldness is primarily genetic and related to the hormone DHT (Dihydrotesterone). DHT is a metabolic product of the breakdown of testosterone. This type of hair loss is called androgenic alopecia (AGA).  Fifty percent of male and female Caucasians over 40 years have some degree of AGA. Women usually  have decreased hair thickness and density rather than balding. Progression in women may hasten after menopause or in those taking aromatase inhibitors. In those prone to AGA, the DHT causes the hair follicle to become smaller, which makes the hair shaft smaller until it becomes like peach fuzz or non -existent.

 

DHT blockers are used to help delay this type of hair loss. There are natural and prescription DHT blockers. The natural ones are Saw Palmetto, Pumpkin Seed, Emu Oil, Green Tea, Pygeum Extract, Nettle Leaf, Soy Isoflavones, Gamma Linolenic Acids, Melatonin, and Zinc.

 

There are prescription DHT blockers such as Propecia. Studies have shown that adding the amino acid L- Lysine  to DHT blockers may make them more effective.

 

Another treatment for AGA is Minoxidil (Rogaine). It is a vasodilator originally used to treat high blood pressure which was also found to  retard hair loss and to help with hair growth when applied to the scalp.  A summary of studies on Minoxidil indicated 15% will experience some hair regrowth, 50% will have delayed hair loss, and 35% will continue to lose hair.  With a 65% chance of some kind of benefit, it is worth a try if you suffer from AGA.

 

Hair loss can be a side effect of  a large number of medications, too numerous to list all of them. But here is a partial list of drugs and other substances which can have the side effect of hair loss.  All drugs are listed by generic name only.  If you are losing hair & don’t find your medication here, be sure to look in a PDR (Physician’s Drug Reference) to see a detailed list of side effects from your meds. Look for the word Alopecia.  Do not change any of your medications without discussing with your doctor.

 

Allopurinol, amphetamines, arsenic, apirin, l-asparaginase, bismuth, bleomycin, boric acid, bromocriptine, carbamazepine, carbon monoxide, chlorambucil, chloramphenicol, cimetidine, colchicine, clofibrate, clomiphene citrate, coumarin anticoagulant, cyclophosphamide, cyproterone acetate, dactinomycin, danazol, diethyl carbamazepine, dipyridamole,divalprox, doxorubicin, ethionamide, etoposide, etretinate, fenifibrate, fluconazole, gemfibrozal,  gentamycin sulphate, guanethidine, heparin (telogen effluvium after 6-16 weeks ), hydroxychloroquine, ibuprofen, idoxuridine, indandione, indomethacin, interferon, iodine, isophosphamide, L amotrigine,  levamisole, levodopa, lithium, mepacrine, mercury, mesalazine, methisazone, methotrexate, methyl CCNU, methysurgide, metoprolol, mitomycin, mitrexantrone, morphine, nadolol, nafoxidine, naproxen,  nicotinyl alcohol, nitrofurantoin sodium, norethisterone, estrogens, oral contraceptives, para aminosalicylate, phenindione, phenprocoumon, potassium thiocyanate, procainamide, propanolol, ranitidine, retinol, selenium sulphide, sodium aurothiomalate, sodium valproate, spironolactone, sulindac,  sulphasalazine, tamoxifen, thalium acetate, thiamphenicol, timolol, timolol eyedrops terfenadine, topiramate, trimethadione, troxidone, ursodeoxycholic acid, valproic acid, vasopressin, vincristine, vindesine, vitamin A, warfarin

 

Psychiatric Meds such as:

All hormone-containing drugs and drugs prescribed for hormone-related, reproductive, male-specific, and female-specific conditions and situations have the potential to cause hair loss, including:

 Thyroid Disorders:

As mentioned before, stress can be a major factor in hair loss and perhaps partially because of excess stress hormones.  Mice altered to overproduce adrenal stress hormones had their hair turn gray then fall out to become bald.  They were then injected for 5 days in a row with a stress blocking chemical called Astressin-B.  Three months later the group given the stress hormone blocker had regrown all hair while the group without the blocker had not.  The hope is to pursue human studies. However major hormone manipulation in human studies can be complicated and fraught with difficulties.