Alopecia areata primarily affects hair, but in some cases, there are nail changes as well. People with the disease are usually healthy and have no other symptoms.
Alopecia areata has also been associated with autoimmune diseases. Some of these include diabetes mellitus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disorders, and vitiligo [2]. Several studies have also confirmed the association of alopecia areata with systemic lupus erythematosus [2,4,7,8].
Though the symptoms of alopecia areata typically do not cause physical pain, many people with the condition say that it causes emotional, or psychological, pain. This type of pain is as serious (and can feel the same) as physical pain and can lead to feelings of sadness, depression and anxiety.
While the disease is not medically serious, it can impact people psychologically. Support groups are available to help people with alopecia areata deal with the psychological effects of the condition. Further information may be found at the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (www.naaf.org).
Hair loss (alopecia) can affect just your scalp or your entire body, and it can be temporary or permanent. It can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or a normal part of aging. Anyone can lose hair on their head, but it's more common in men.
What causes alopecia areata? Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. This means that your immune system mistakenly attacks a part of your body. When you have alopecia areata, cells in your immune system surround and attack your hair follicles (the part of your body that makes hair).
The disease is associated with increased risk of other autoimmune disorders (Table 2). Approximately, 12-16% of individuals with alopecia areata develop an autoimmune disease [29, 30].
Answer: Alopecia areata and fatigue and cold intolerance
Suppression of adrenal gland function can lead to both fatigue and cold intolerance for example.
“Alopecia Areata itself does not compromise the immune system or cause immune deficiency and there is no reason to think that people with Alopecia Areata are more at risk from COVID-19 than the general population, either in terms of catching the virus or being more severely affected by it.
Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is associated with significant cardiovascular risk factors that also have a negative impact on brain aging.
Alopecia areata is not life-threatening and does not cause physical pain. However, the psychosocial effects of hair loss can be devastating. In addition, patients may experience symptoms related to hair loss, such as increased eye or nasal irritation after loss of eyelash or nasal hair.
Compared with the general population, increased prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders are associated with alopecia (Koo et al., 1994) suggesting that people with alopecia may be at higher risk for development of a major depressive episode, anxiety disorder, social phobia or paranoid disorder.
Alopecia areata can make both your professional and personal life hard to navigate. Research has found that as many as 1 in 6 people are uncomfortable having contact with someone who has hair loss, and 6% say they wouldn't hire them for a job. One big worry you may have is whether to tell your employer and co-workers.
Alopecia areata can occur at any age but about half of cases come on in childhood and 80% of cases come on before the age of 40 years. Men and women are equally affected. The condition tends to be milder if it comes on at an older age.
Although, so far there is no evidence to suggest those with alopecia areata are at a higher risk of contracting the virus, if you are on medication that affects your immune system, you may want to be particularly cautious because of the potential for greater risk of complications if infected.
Alopecia areata (AA), an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss, including baldness, has been linked to a significantly increased risk for dementia, new research shows.
Both men and women tend to lose hair thickness and amount as they age. This type of baldness is not usually caused by a disease. It is related to aging, heredity, and changes in the hormone testosterone. Inherited, or pattern baldness, affects many more men than women.
Conclusions and Relevance Patients with alopecia areata have a higher risk of mortality associated with self-harm, psychiatric diseases, and smoking-associated malignant diseases including lung cancer.
Most people know alopecia to be a form of hair loss. However, what they don't always know is that there are three main types of the condition – alopecia areata, alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis.
Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune skin disease, causing hair loss on the scalp, face and sometimes on other areas of the body. In fact, it affects as many as 6.8 million people in the U.S. with a lifetime risk of 2.1%. People of all ages, both sexes and all ethnic groups can develop alopecia areata.
Calcipotriol, a vitamin D analog, has been reported to be topically used in treating alopecia areata with promising results. Combination therapy of vitamin D analogs with corticosteroids might also be used in treating alopecia areata.
Alopecia areata is not medically disabling; persons with alopecia areata are usually in excellent health. But emotionally, this disease can be challenging, especially for those with extensive hair loss.
Avoiding unnecessary hair or scalp trauma, reducing stress and analyzing your diet are all worthwhile endeavors when attempting to prevent alopecia areata from spreading.
A variety of factors are thought to cause alopecia areata (al-o-PEE-she-uh ar-e-A-tuh), possibly including severe stress. With alopecia areata, the body's immune system attacks the hair follicles — causing hair loss.
Alopecia areata is sometimes triggered by viral infections such as influenza that causes excess production of interferons (IFN). IFN- γ is one of the key factors that lead to the collapse of immune privilege.