Human baldness may have the most unexpected etiology, but try to study in more detail a disease such as alopecia areata. First of all, it should be clarified that this pathology is characterized by round-shaped hair loss on the head, face and other parts of the hair. If we talk about the causes of massive hair damage, they are not fully identified, however, among predisposing factors, endocrine, neurological and psychological disorders, autoimmune processes and vascular changes should be distinguished. Also, do not exclude the genetic predisposition, which prevails in 10-20% of patients.
So, consider the clinical picture of this disease. As a rule, foci of alopecia areata are localized on the head, namely in the occipital and parietal regions. Patients complain of regular hair loss, expressed by hairless round spots on the head. There may be several such foci, but they have the ability to merge, forming an extensive pronounced bald spot. Also a characteristic sign of this disease is a change in the structure of the hair follicle, and some hairs, in turn, acquire a narrowed shaft and densification directly at the skin level.
Alopecia areata is classified into diffuse, subtotal, local, total, ophasis, and universal. So, the predominance of the diffuse form is accompanied by a pronounced thinning of the hair mainly on the head, and with subtotal alopecia, up to 40% of the hair disappears in the scalp. In 5% of clinical cases, there is an ophthalmic alopecia areata, which is characterized by alopecia along the conditional strip of the hat; and in 5-10%, a total form of alopecia is diagnosed due to complete loss of hair on the head. In very rare cases, the disease affects the areas of the eyebrows, eyelashes, pubic hair and hair “under the arms”, then there is universal alopecia areata.
It is very difficult to predict the onset of alopecia areata, and its course in the body is unpredictable. In some clinical pictures, the process of remission is diagnosed, which occurs as unexpectedly as the exacerbation preceding it. Sometimes such improvements are considered temporary, and the disease becomes recurrent chronic. In another category of patients, on the contrary, there is a rapid alopecia and the regular appearance of new foci of alopecia areata. It is important to clarify that all forms of this disease are able to pass one into another.
Alopecia areata is diagnosed by visual inspection of the affected areas of the skin, but a trichogram is also provided, which is not necessary today.
If the final diagnosis of alopecia areata is made, the treatment should be purely individual in each case, based on the nature of the pathological process and the specificity of the affected organism. It should be clarified that an unexpected recovery is quite possible, but do not flatter yourself, because relapses are also natural. By the way, with the total form, the hair structure often does not recover even after a long and expensive treatment. During combination therapy, sedatives, vitamin complexes, corticosteroid ointments and phytin, as well as special alcohol rubbing, are prescribed. In more severe cases, photosensitizers (Beroxan, Ammifurin) are used in combination with ultraviolet radiation, photochemotherapy and oral corticosteroids.
In general, the prognosis is favorable, although sometimes treatment takes a lot of time and financial resources, and noticeable improvements have to be expected for a very long time.