(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-09 14:57

There are other types of hair loss, but they occur less frequently. When circular patches of hair fall out, for example, the cause typically is an autoimmune disease that sets in rapidly, Garcia Bartels says. Sometimes hair loss is attributed to an internal disease of the thyroid or a low level of iron in the blood.

There are remedies available to stop hair loss caused by male pattern baldness and possibly even to reactivate the still existing hair follicles. The effectiveness of the remedies in fact has been documented in studies.

Remedies with the effective ingredient finasterid are used in high doses to treat the prostate gland. It blocks the enzyme that converts testosterone into the hair follicle-damaging DHT.

Finasterid can be obtained through a prescription and it is taken in the form of a daily tablet.

"If the treatment is stopped, the hair loss as a rule will start again," Garcia Bartels says. The price of the drug - about 150 euros ($220) for a three-month supply - is high.

Somewhat more economical is Minoxidil, which is a lotion that must be applied to the scalp twice a day. Originally developed as a blood pressure medication, Minoxidil was found to have the side effect of hair growth.

Minoxidil's success rate is however lower: While hair loss is stopped in 80 percent of the people who use finasterid, the rate is 70 percent among people who apply Minoxidil. Additionally, 70 to 80 percent of finasterid users experience hair regrowth. This is true for 50 to 60 percent of Minoxidil users.

Apart from these medicines and the toupee, there is another way of achieving a full head of hair again: hair transplantation. This involves removing pieces of skin with hair follicles from another part of the body, typically the back of the neck, and transplanting them to the bald spots.

"Such measures come into play only if the hair loss has ended," Garcia Bartels says. Otherwise, the remaining original hair will continue to fall out around the newly transplanted hair.

Hair transplantation is a very costly solution to baldness. The cost of refilling in a small spot with hair can run over 1,000 euros ($1,469).

"The results that I have seen so far are not especially satisfying," Hofmann says. Apparently, it is better when a man accepts his baldness.

"The problems that men have with hair loss decline anyway as they get older," Henss says. "Perhaps time does not grant a full head of hair, but it does heal all wounds."

On the Internet there are numerous advertisements offering lotions and similar remedies for hair loss. Hofmann says these are best avoided.

"Remedies that cost a lot of money and do nothing only cause aggravation and frustration," Hofmann says. The money would be better spent on a head massage or a hair tonic containing rubbing alcohol.

"Such measures help increase blood circulation to the scalp, thus supplying it with oxygen."

DPA

(China Daily 01/09/2008 page19)

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