WHAT IS ALOPECIA?
Unlike Androgenetic Alopecia (common male and female hereditary or “pattern” hair loss), Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles, resulting in the sudden loss of hair. Most often, hair loss occurs in patches, with the hair itself coming out in clumps, leaving smooth, bald patches of varying sizes on the scalp, beard, or elsewhere on the body.
Alopecia areata affects both men and women equally, and is most common in people under the age of 20, but it may affect people of any age. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, it is expected that about 6.8 million people in the US will develop the disease at some point in their lives. Globally, that number jumps to 147 million people.
Generally, hair loss from alopecia areata comes and goes, and the damage it does to hair follicles is not permanent, but the disease varies from person to person. For example, it’s possible for hair to begin growing again in one bald patch and then fall out in another patch elsewhere months or years later, or for the alopecia to resolve and never return. In about one out of every ten cases, lost hair does not regrow. In some cases hair loss progresses to total baldness on the scalp, called Alopecia Totalis, or loss of hair over the whole body, known as Alopecia Universalis. While the condition is not life threatening, many alopecia areata patients are unfortunately mistaken for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment—and therefore often spend a good deal of time explaining “No, I’m not sick” or “No, I don’t have cancer” only further compounding a concerning situation.
While there is currently a lot of research and collaboration happening in search of a cure, a definitive solution has yet to be found.
Additional resources and links related to Alopecia include:
- National Alopecia Areata Foundation - www.naaf.org
- Alopecia Solutions and Partners - www.Alopecia.md
- Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation - www.carfintl.org
- Alopecia and Friends - a Facebook Support Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/205678809826486/
Some famous people with Alopecia:
- Edith Bouvier Beale
- Dave Flemming
- Joelle Amery
- Justin Lee (activist)
- Slavko Petrović
- John D. Rockefeller
- Baldy Jack Rose
- Charlie Villanueva
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