DAVID A. WHITING, MD
 
Title: "Male Pattern Hair Loss: Current Understanding"
 
Summary of Article:
 
The current knowledge of normal scalp hair growth, hormonal and enzyme mediators, and the changes which occur in AGA, and which may be modulated by 5a-reductase inhibition, is summarized here. Discussion on the average # of follicles on a human scalp at birth, overview of the structure of the follicle and the definition of the phases of growth and loss it goes through... a description of what exactly happens when a hair enters its dormancy phase, and the role hormones play in hair growth. A very elaborate presentation of each hormone's role in the various hair growth sites on the body.

This is a very helpful paper for those of you who are interested in seeing the scientific evidence regarding the differences between body hair, genital hair, beard hair, and scalp hair .... as well as what glands, hormones, and internal organs are responsible for their growth or lack of growth. The topic of which organs make use of DHT (and thus which organs may have slight responses to a lack of DHT) is also covered - which may be of interest to those of you who respond strongly to Propecia use and have reported various peculiar responses throughout your body.

The process of follicle miniaturization found in typical hair loss patients is discussed at length, as well as the logic behind why only a minority of patients could never see a regrowth of hair, as well as some reasons why some men do not respond to 2% Minoxidil and treatments like it.

More interestingly, a review of the current understanding of the genetic side of why and how hair loss occurs is in this document, and a discussion of the certain genetic diseases where hair loss is nonexistent. Many of us have seen the studies on the correlation between Hair Loss and other ailments like high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc... the validity of these correlations is also discussed.

A discussion on men who were castrated prior to puberty never experienced hair loss, but when dosed with testosterone rapidly continued hair loss, and how men who were castrated after puberty versus before.. still lost their hair, and why. To top it off, an elaborate review of the difference between type 1 and type 2 alpha reductase and what kind of men (guys with no body hair, guys with a lot of body hair, etc) have abundances and deficiencies of each type.