alopecia

by BlackSwan of Memphis 26 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  jayhawk1

  I'm not a doctor, but I did go to Barber School. Here is what my barber book (Milady's Standard Textbook of Professional Barber-Styling) says...

  Alopecia senilis is baldness occurring in old age. The loss of hair is permanent.

  Alopecia prematura is baldness beginning any time before middle age. It occurs by a slow, thinning process, and is due to hairs that fall out being replaced by weaker ones.

  Alopecia areata is the loss of hair in round patches, or bald spots. It can be caused by anemia, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, or syphilis. Affected areas are slightly depressed, smooth, and very pale due to decreased blood supply. Patches may be round or iregular, and vary in size from one-half inch to two or three inches in diameter. In most cases of alopecia areata, there has been injury to the nervous system, the affected area is usually poorly nourished as well.

  Alopecia may appear in different forms, resulting from a variety of abnormal conditions. Sometimes alopecia can be treated successfully by proper scalp treatments.

  Hope this might help. I typed this out fast, so I hope I got it all, and typed it correctly.
• 

  BlackSwan of Memphis

  Hm this is getting even more interesting. I'm trying to think about her stress levels.

  School life for her is pretty good. Home life is good, excepting her little sister and she sort of well, don't get along well. The little sis has a voice that rivals Mariah Carey on her best day and mind you she's only 4. Well the 6 year old has a serious aversion to loud noise. I suppose it's quite possible that I might have to take a bit more of a look at those stress levels. Come to think of it, years back my husband and I worked with a gentleman who went through a bout with alopecia. I think it was stress related as well. Hm, I've gotta really think about this.

  Juni, what kind of skin sores? I didn't know that. The thinning hair I've heard of often.

  Thanks Looking Glass for that advice as well. I have been thinking about doing a little more research on the DS once again online as she is getting older, I guess this would be something to start with. Thanks for the luck, 'preciate it.

  Ok Jayhawk, it does sound like if this is a standard case of alopecia, as the others have said, it should be quite treatable. Sounds like we might very well be recommended to a dermatologist.

  BSoM
• 

  bebu

  Sorry to hear of the problem, swan.

  Our daughter would pull out her hair and ingest it. She developed a small bald patch on her head (which has mostly filled back in, hardly noticeable now) with a llot of little spikey hairs from where she had broken them off. I don't recall her having lots of hair on her pillow like your daughter does. But it's something else to consider as a cause of hair loss...

  bebu
• 

  looking_glass

  Blackie - this is what I found doing a quick search thru google. the resources are great and you should have a plethora of materials to read thru that might get you started down the right path of discovery.

  http://www.ds-health.com/derm.htm

  Alopecia

  Alopecia areata is the term used to describe patchy hair loss which is not due to infection or drugs. The bald patches have distinct borders, with no hair thinning in other areas of the scalp. It is believed to be due to an autoimmune process, meaning the body is making antibodies against hair follicles. People with DS are more prone to autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes, hypothyroidism and celiac disease. Alopecia areata is more common in people with DS, occurring in 5 to 9% of the population (compared to 1 to 2% of the general population). A gene implicated in the cause of alopecia areata has been found on the 21st chromosome; see the abstract for August 2000.

  Alopecia is highly unpredictable. People with alopecia can have several episodes of hair loss and regrowth during their lifetime. The hair regrowth can be partial or complete, or there may be no regrowth at all. In most people, hair will eventually regrow to some extent within one year. However, a small percentage of people can develop chronic alopecia. In some cases, the hair loss will cover the entire scalp, which is called alopecia totalis. In a very small percentage, hair loss can occur all over the body, which is called alopecia universalis.

  There is no cure at present for alopecia; treatment is currently aimed at helping hair regrowth, but it cannot stop the spread of hair loss. The first line of treatment for adults and teenagers is injection of corticosteroids into the bald spots, with the goal of suppressing the immune reaction causing hair loss. This is not used for children due to the pain involved. Regrowth can be seen in 4 to 8 weeks, and treatment is repeated every 4 to 6 weeks up to a maximum of 6 months. The application of steroid creams are ineffective. There has been some success with hair regrowth with topical applications of minoxidil and anthralin. There are newer agents being tried in clinical studies such as diphenylcyclopropenone and dinitrochlorobenzene, but are not yet commercially available.

  

  References:

  • Benson PM and Scherbenske JM. Dermatologic Findings, pages 209-215 in Biomedical Concerns in Persons with Down Syndrome, ed. Pueschel SM and Peuschel JK, Paul H Brookes Pub, Baltimore, 1992.
  • Dourmishev A et al. Cutaneous aspects of Down syndrome. Cutis 66:420-424, 2000.
  • Ercis M et al. Dermatological manifestations of 71 Down syndrome children admitted to a clinical genetics unit. Clin Genet 50:317-320, 1996.
  • Kavanagh GM et al. Folliculitis in Down syndrome. Brit J Derm 129:696-699, 1993.
  • Madani S and Shapiro J. Alopecia areata update. J Amer Acad Derm 42(4):549-566, 2000.
  • Munoz-Perez MA and Camacho F. Acanthosis nigrans: A new cutaneous sign in severe atopic dermatitis and Down syndrome. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 15: 325-327, 2001.
• 

  BlackSwan of Memphis

  Glassy: (hey I thought Blackie was pretty cool!)

  This is what stumps me:

  Alopecia areata is the term used to describe patchy hair loss which is not due to infection or drugs. The bald patches have distinct borders, with no hair thinning in other areas of the scalp. It is believed to be due to an autoimmune process, meaning the body is making antibodies against hair follicles. People with DS are more prone to autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes, hypothyroidism and celiac disease. Alopecia areata is more common in people with DS, occurring in 5 to 9% of the population (compared to 1 to 2% of the general population). A gene implicated in the cause of alopecia areata has been found on the 21st chromosome; see the abstract for August 2000.

  Her hair is thinning throughout. That raises my eyebrow towards the thyroid and/or stress issue. Man, it's like playing detective with kids. That link is very helpful. In fact thank you so very much. I had read some of Leshin's stuff when I first had my daughter. That would be six years ago. Since then I've really lost track of a lot my ds resources and honest to god, he was one of my favorites. Thanks!!! The resources that follow the article are awesome. I have found in times past, especially after I first had my daughter, that often times these research articles are extremely helpful in finding doctors that really know their stuff and are very willing to talk to you either themselves or they have assistants that are quite helpful. Thank you for getting this.

  Bebu: wow, that is definitely something to consider. That is really wild. Isn't it amazing what kids will do? I know someone in my family who would pluck their eyebrows out due to stress and anxiety. And another person who would pull out eyelashes. I'm really happy your daughters hair is growing back in. You didn't mention why she was doing it, but I am hoping that whatever was causing her to do that is better as well!

  BSoM
• 

  damselfly

  Maybe this article wll help you out more?
  
  http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic416.htm
  
  Dams
• 

  LDH

  Our daughter would pull out her hair and ingest it. She developed a small bald patch on her head (which has mostly filled back in, hardly noticeable now) with a llot of little spikey hairs from where she had broken them off. I don't recall her having lots of hair on her pillow like your daughter does. But it's something else to consider as a cause of hair loss...

  bebu

  This is what I was thinking, I think its a disorder called "trichotillomania" or something, which means the pulling out of one's own hair obsessively. Have you taken her to the Dr?
• 

  Princess

  Trichotillomania is obsessive hair pulling. It's an anxiety disorder. My son has it. Started with a bald patch on his head (he has let it grow back) then moved to pulling out all his eyelashes (has let them grow back) and now he has no eyebrows. We've been to the doctor and are moving forward in the referral system. <sigh> It's a long process.
• 

  SPAZnik

  I concur with "see your dr". Definitely need to rule out nutritional imbalances and any other possible contributing factors.
  
  
  
  
• 

  looking_glass

  I have a tendency to shorten or familiarize names ... bad habit I know.

  I am sure that you are working with your doctor with regards to your daughter's hair loss. But as many here know, doctors are limited too in their abilities. They work off of what is called a differential diagnosis and start working their way through it to try and narrow down the problem. If, we as humans, take the initiative to investigate and provide as much information to the doc as possible, it often times helps and/or allows the doc to have a smaller differential diagnosis to work off of which in turn allows them to reach a conclusion or a working diagnosis much quicker.

  BSoM, my other suggestion to you would be to start to document everything you see involving your daughter's hair loss, from what she eats on a daily basis to her interactions with people. Honestly, in the world of medicine, there is no such thing as too much information.

  Again, if I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to holler.