Hereditary Hair Loss Treatment
Hereditary hair loss (also called male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness, and androgenetic alopecia, AGA) affects both men and women. It affects about 80 million men and women in the United States There are hundreds of treatments. More accurately, there are hundreds of claims of treatments. The vast majority of these don’t work. In a previous blog, I discussed the mechanism of AGA. In summary, testosterone, which is present in the blood stream of both men and women, is taken up by receptors of genetically programmed hair follicles in the scalp. In the hair follicle, it is converted to dihidrotestosterone (DHT) by an enzyme, 5-alpha reductase. DHT sends a chemical signal to the hair follicles to slow their growth. The affected follicles shrink, progressively producing shorter and finer hairs. Over time, the follicle is destroyed.
