Alopecia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Alopecia, including details on hair loss, baldness, treatment, causes, prevention.

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia and effects on quality of life among women with breast cancer: a literature review.

Lemieux J, Maunsell E, Provencher L

Unité de recherche en santé des populations, Centre hospitalier affilié universitaire de Québec, Quebec, Que, Canada. julie.lemieux@uresp.ulaval.ca

BACKGROUND: Alopecia is a common side effect of chemotherapies used in the treatment of breast cancer. The aim of this review is to describe the effects of alopecia on quality of life (QOL) in this population. METHODS: We conducted a literature review using Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and PsycInfo databases. We searched for studies on the effects of alopecia on various aspects of QOL in breast cancer patients including anxiety and distress, body image, sexuality, self-esteem, social functioning, global QOL and return to work outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 38 articles were included in the review. Hair loss consistently ranked amongst the most troublesome side effects, was described as distressing, and may affect the body image. CONCLUSIONS: We found very little quantitative data on other aspects of QOL. More research is needed to determine the presence and extent of negative effects on chemotherapy-induced alopecia on various aspects of QOL.

Published 2 April 2008 in Psychooncology, 17(4): 317-28.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Alopecia published 5 March 2008:

Genome-wide scan and fine-mapping linkage study of androgenetic alopecia reveals a locus on chromosome 3q26.   Am J Hum Genet, 82(3): 737-43.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA, male pattern baldness) is the most common form of hair loss. The origin of AGA is genetic, with the X chromosome located androgen receptor gene (AR) being the only risk gene identified to date. We present the results of a genome-wide linkage study of 95 families and linkage fine mapping of the 3q21-q29, 11q14-q25, 18p11-q23, and 19p13-q13 regions in an extended sample of 125 families of German descent. The locus with strongest evidence for linkage was mapped to 3q26 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Alopecia published 20 February 2008:

Mutations in the hairless gene underlie APL in three families of Pakistani origin.   J Dermatol Sci, 50(1): 25-30.

BACKGROUND: Atrichia with papular lesions (APL) (OMIM#209500) is a rare autosomal recessively inherited form of irreversible alopecia characterized by papular lesions of keratin-filled cysts on various regions of the body. Males and females are equally affected and present with a distinct pattern of total hair loss on scalp, axilla and body. It begins shortly after birth with the development of hair loss, and patients are normally devoid of eyelashes and eyebrows. Mutations in the hairless (HR) ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Alopecia published 18 February 2008:

Subcutaneous efalizumab is not effective in the treatment of alopecia areata.   J Am Acad Dermatol, 58(3): 395-402.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA) is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease. Efalizumab is a T-cell-targeted therapy approved for the treatment of psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of efalizumab in the treatment of moderate-to-severe AA. METHODS: Sixty-two patients were enrolled into this phase II, placebo-controlled trial. The trial consisted of three 12-week periods-a double-blind treatment period, an open-label efalizumab treatment period, and a safety follow-up. RESULTS: ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Alopecia published 4 February 2008:

The hair collar sign.   Am J Med Genet A, 146(4): 484-7.

We report on two children with congenital scalp lesions which were surrounded by a ring of dark hair known as a hair collar. A review of previously reported patients with hair collars revealed that most of the scalp lesions were single and located at the vertex or parietal areas. They were most commonly composed of heterotopic neural tissue. We found a significant risk of associated skull defects, direct connections to the central nervous system (CNS), and brain and cerebrovascular anomalies in ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Alopecia published 15 January 2008:

The "bald Mill Hill" mutation in the mouse is associated with an abnormal, mislocalized HR bmh protein.   J Invest Dermatol, 128(2): 311-21.

We have previously identified a mutation in the mouse hairless locus-hairless rhino bald Mill Hill (Hr(rhbmh)). The genetic alteration in these mice consists in a large 296 bp deletion at the 3' part of the hairless gene (ID:MGI:3039558; J:89321). Here, we show that this deletion removes the stop codon and creates a new reading frame at the C terminus of the hairless protein, generating a larger mutant protein harboring an additional sequence of 117 amino acids. The mutant hairless gene mRNA is ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Dihydrotestosterone-inducible dickkopf 1 from balding dermal papilla cells causes apoptosis in follicular keratinocytes.   J Invest Dermatol, 128(2): 262-9.

Recent studies suggest that androgen-driven alteration to the autocrine and paracrine factors produced by scalp dermal papilla (DP) cells may be a key to androgen-potentiated balding. Here, we screened dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-regulated genes in balding DP cells and found that dickkopf 1 (DKK-1) is one of the most upregulated genes. DKK-1 messenger RNA is upregulated in 3-6 hours after 50-100 nM DHT treatment and ELISA showed that DKK-1 is secreted from DP cells in response to DHT. A ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Alopecia published 13 December 2007:

308-nm excimer laser for the treatment of alopecia areata.   Dermatol Surg, 33(12): 1483-7.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata is loss of hair from localized or diffuse areas of hair-bearing area of the skin. Recently there are reports of efficacy of the 308-nm excimer radiation for this condition. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of the 308-nm excimer laser in the treatment of alopecia areata. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen patients with 42 recalcitrant patches (including 1 adult with alopecia totalis) were enrolled in this study. The lesions were treated with the 308-nm excimer laser twice ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Alopecia published 22 October 2007:

Pernicious anemia associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia and alopecia areata.   Pediatr Blood Cancer, 49(7): 1017-8.

We report a 16-year-old male with a combination of pernicious anemia, auto-immune hemolytic anemia and alopecia areata. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia coexisted with pernicious anemia but was diagnosed only when the anemia failed to respond to cobalamin therapy. Alopecia areata occurred 9 years later. [Abstract] [Full-text]

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