Alopecia Areata

Loss of hair in small, round patches

Alopecia Areata is a serious disease that causes loss of hair in well-demarcated patches usually in a circular pattern. In extreme cases, it can result in an extensive hair loss. In some very rare cases, those affected lose all body hair: eyebrows, armpit hair, eyelashes, beard etc. These extreme forms are luckily very rare. Nevertheless even small hairless parts represent a significant stress factor for those affected. In Germany, about 1 million people suffer from this disease.



Seldom: extensive hair loss

Causes

A lot of research has been done on the causes of this disease. Today we know that the underlying reason is an autoimmune disorder. The humane immune system, which should attack infections and diseases, suddenly starts attacking healthy parts of the roots of the hair. It does not recognize its own cells and destroy them.



Autoimmune disorder

Such malfunctions of the body’s immune system occur in those suffering from allergies and in patients, who already suffer from autoimmune disorders against thyroid gland or stomach tissue. Another factor is stress. Many patients report that they had a huge stress previously to the hair loss, and stress usually contributes to developing immune disorders.




Stress factor

Treatment

Before the treatment, a thorough examination of the body functions and those of the immune system is carried out. Various tests are evaluated in the immune laboratory, which belongs to our practice.


Comprehensive
test procedures

The treatment measures include medications that are applied externally, taking various drugs or certain vitamins and trace elements. The exact therapy should be individually adapted to the specific case.


Individual
treatment

In addition to that, certain light or laser treatments can help, as well as injecting preparations directly into the roots of the hair (e.x. mesotherapy). According to the experimental studies, the hair grows back after artificially caused inflammations. Due to this treatment, the immune system is so to speak “distracted”. Anti-stress therapies can contribute to healing of this type of hair loss.



From light therapy to stress therapy

Prognosis

Even though in some cases the healing process requires plenty of time, luckily the clinical prognosis of patients with alopecia areata is very good: in more then 90% of all cases the hair grows back completely.

By the way, there is no connection with other forms of hair loss.


Hair grows back in more then 90% of the cases.