Are young people losing their hair earlier than past generations?
New research shows anxiety and poor diet may be a factor in the early onset of hair loss in millennials and 20-somethings.
At the same time, men and women older than 50 are experiencing hair loss and hair thinning, either due to genetics, hormone changes or the aging process.
Together, these have triggered a skyrocketing demand for therapies and drugs to prevent and treat hair loss. So far, the FDA has approved only topical minoxidil and finasteride as pharmacological treatments. No other drug has been FDA-approved for the most common form of hair loss in almost 30 years. But that soon may change.
A least a half dozen medications and cell-based therapies are advancing in clinical trials, and Florida dermatologists see hope on the horizon.
“It’s an exciting time,” said Dr. Joshua Berlin, a Boynton Beach dermatologist who treats patients for hair loss. “We are seeing a resurgence of companies looking at solutions for this condition. Although it’s nothing life-threatening, it affects a significant part of the population, and it’s upsetting for them.”
Berlin said the increased advertising for hair loss products has created more awareness — and interest in solutions. “I am definitely seeing more people coming to my office specifically for hair loss.”
Dr. Brett King, an associate professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, specializes in hair loss. He is jazzed about the advancements and attention on the most common form of hair loss called androgenetic alopecia, also known as female and male pattern hair loss. He recently discovered something for his patients that is working.
King is getting great results by prescribing oral minoxidil, a well-known hair-loss treatment drug typically applied to the scalp. Minoxidil is the active ingredient in Rogaine, a lotion or foam that is rubbed on the scalp, and is now generic. It has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for oral use for hair loss. However, a rising number of hair-loss dermatologists recently have been giving the low-dose pills to patients, and like King, they report success.
“Oral minoxidil is so much better for many reasons,” he said. “Topical only works where you put it, while oral treats all the parts of your scalp.”
Two new medications approved in the last year and a half also show results in people who have alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. Alopecia areata is the second most common type of hair loss. The medications allow users to regrow their hair again.
“Now hair loss is something that when someone walks into a dermatology office, the doctor doesn’t just throw up their hands and say ‘I don’t know, go get Rogaine,'” King said. “Now we have new treatments for the two most common forms of hair loss.”
Those advancements are just the start, he believes.
Some drugs in clinical trials show promise for the early stages of hair loss and hair shedding, while others exhibit the potential to stimulate existing hair folicles and create new hair growth. In addition, progress also is coming unintentionally in some cases as medications intended for other health conditions are repurposed as hair growth stimulators. Another field of research and development is cell-based therapies that stimulate hair growth by injecting stem cells into the scalp.
“I think in the next decade we will see the new development of medicines that truly grow hair … medicines that do not just do a reasonably good job, but doing a great job of treating severe hair loss at younger and younger ages,” King said.
Biotech researchers believe that people with hair loss will turn to convenient, direct-to-consumer, treatments — pills, lotions, injections — they can use in their homes.
Of course, hair transplants remain popular, too.
Berlin says the best way to know the right choice is to see a dermatologist. They can examine your scalp and order blood work to check for possible underlying causes.
If a nutrient deficiency is an issue, taking specific supplements may remedy the situation. Berlin is a fan of a biotin as well as a nutritional supplement called Nutrafol — a blend of vitamins, minerals, and botanical ingredients. One study found Nutrafol decreases hair shedding in women before during and after menopause. “They work to some degree, no question,” he said.
“Hair loss is a condition where we have had nothing new for many years and all of a sudden there are breakthroughs,” he said. “The goal is more novel threatments, and I know many people would like see that.”
Delray Medical Center has new CEO and new kosher hospitality room
Delray Beach’s large Jewish community may find some comfort in knowing they will be accommodated if their family member needs hospitalization. Delray Medical Center has opened a Kosher Hospitality Room to support Jewish families visiting loved ones at the hospital. The hospitalitity room offers kosher food, a separate microwave for milk and meat, and a peaceful space for spiritual reflection that includes prayer books, reading material, and hospital-safe Shabbat packages.
The medical center also has new leadership. As of July 12, Heather Havericak is the new CEO of Delray Medical Center. She is responsible for overseeing all strategic, operational and clinical activities.
“Heather is an executive with more than 17 years of healthcare leadership experience in South Florida,” Maggie Gill, group president for Tenet Healthcare’s East Coast region, said in a written statement. “With her experience, clinical background and knowledge of the market, she will ensure Delray’s ability to execute on its quality and growth initiatives.”
Havericak came to Delray Medical Center from Broward Health, where she most recently had been CEO of Broward Health Medical Center.
Boca Raton hospital specialist uses dual tests to diagnose Parkinson’s Disease
Dr. Sameea Husain Wilson, a neurologist and specialist in movement disorder, often can tell by doing an exam in her clinic in Boca Raton if a patient has Parkinson’s Disease.
She also now uses two types of tests to help confirm the diagnosis. A newer skin biopsy test called SynOne, and a DaTscan, or Dopamine Transporter Scan, which is a brain imaging test that can help diagnose Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.
Husain Wilson works at the Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital and says she has an extremely busy practice in Boca Raton diagnosing and treating patients with Parkinson’s. The disease tends to affect Ashkinazi Jewish men, of which there are many in Boca Raton. Also, the average age of diagnosis is 65 and seniors make up a high percentage of residents in the area. Women get Parkinson’s too, although not as frequentlhy as men.
“If a patient exhibits features of Parkinson’s that are signed, sealed and delivered, I wouldn’t use a test. That’s where my training comes in,” Husain-Wilson explains. However, if the doctor suspects the disease is in an early stage and she needs confirmation, the imaging test tends to be her go-to because it is less invasive than a skin biopsy. Both The SyneOne and the DaTscan tests are as effective in confirming a diagnsosis, she said.
Neurologists have learned the sooner someone gets a diagnosis, the earlier the treatment can begin, and the better the chance of keeping symptoms controlled.
The most apparent signs of Parkinson’s are tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement and balance issues. Parkinson’s is a degenerative brain disorder that affects more than a half-million Americans.
Some less obvious symptoms in early stages are acting out dreams such as kicking or punching while sleeping, constipation or loss of smell out of nowhere, rapid onset of depression or anxiety. “Those are symptoms that develop decades earlier and for which you would never see someone (a specialist) like me,” she said. “It’s important to be transparent with your doctor about anything you are experiencing.”
A diagnosis is not what it had been in prior decades. The field of treatments options is advancing quickly for Parkinson’s.
“I have so many medications and pumps that deliver medications. With all the new procedures that are out there for patients, you can live a more full and active life again with Parkinson’s,” she said.
Sourh Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.
