Minoxidil Health Dictionary

Alopecia means hair loss. It may be localised or total in the scalp. The commonest type, which is hereditary, is male baldness (androgenic alopecia). Female balding spares the anterior hair line, develops later, and is less severe than the male variety. Di?use hair loss is common after childbirth, severe illness or infection (telogen alopecia); it begins 8–12 weeks after the causative event and recovery is complete. Persistent di?use hair loss may be caused by severe iron de?ciency or HYPOTHYROIDISM, or may be drug-induced.

Patchy localised hair loss is commonly caused by fungal infections (tinea capitis – see RINGWORM), especially in the tropics. It may also be due to trauma, such as hair-pulling by children or disturbed adults, or hair-straightening by African or Afro-Caribbean women (traction alopecia). Rarely, diseases of the scalp-skin such as discoid lupus erythematosus (see under LUPUS) or lichen planus (see under LICHEN) may cause patchy alopecia with scarring which is irreversible. The long-term effects of radiotherapy may be similar.

Treatment depends on the cause. Speci?c antifungal drugs cure tinea capitis. Correction of thyroid or iron de?ciency may be dramatic. Male baldness may be modi?ed slightly by long-term use of minoxidil lotion, or improved permanently by various types of hair-follicle grafting of transplants from the occipital scalp. Female balding may be amenable to anti-androgen/oestrogen regimens, but severe forms require a wig.... alopecia

Growth of excessive hair, often in places that are not normally hairy. Hypertrichosis often occurs as a result of taking certain drugs (including ciclosporin and minoxidil). The term hypertrichosis is also used to describe hair growth in a mole. Hypertrichosis isnot the same as hirsutism, which is due to abnormal levels of male hormones. hypertrophy Enlargement of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the size, rather than number, of its constituent cells. For example, skeletal muscles enlarge in response to increased physical demands. (See also hyperplasia..

hyperuricaemia An abnormally high level of uric acid in the blood. Hyperuricaemia may lead to gout due to the deposition of uric acid crystals in the joints; it may also cause kidney stones (see calculus, urinary tract) and tophus.

Hyperuricaemia may be caused by an inborn error of metabolism (see metabolism, inborn errors of), by the rapid destruction of cells in a disease such as leukaemia, or by medication that reduces the excretion of uric acid by the kidneys, such as diuretic drugs. Large amounts of purine in the diet may also cause hyperuricaemia.

Drugs such as allopurinol or sulfinpyrazone are prescribed for the duration of the patient’s life. Purine-rich foods should be avoided.... hypertrichosis