What is Alopecia Areata
Alopecia Areata will initially appear as rounded bare patches about an inch, or two and a half centimeters across. It can affect both men and women, and is often experienced first in childhood. According to medical surveys, one person in every hundred is likely to experience alopecia areata at some point in their life. Many people affected with alopecia areata will only have a single experience of thinning hair, with regrowth occurring afterwards. However, in approximately 20 percent of cases, thinning hair either recurs or becomes permanent.
What causes Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata is believed by doctors to be an auto-immune disease of the hair. This means that the body’s immune system acts as if the hair follicles are foreign, and attacks them. White blood cells called T- lymphocytes attack the hair follicle, as part of the body’s defense system. This causes the hair to stop growing and to enter into the resting, or telogen phase. After about 3 months, at the conclusion of the resting phase, the hair will fall out. The hair follicle will grow new hair when T-lymphocytes stop attacking.
Three main types of alopecia areata have been diagnosed, depending on the severity of symptoms:
- Alopecia areata: mild patchy thinning hair on the scalp
- Alopecia totalis: loss of all scalp hair
- Alopecia universalis: loss of scalp and all body hair