Is Hair Loss Hereditary?

If you suffer from male pattern baldness or another type of hair loss, chances are that there's someone else in your family with the same condition. Hair loss is determined by many factors, including heredity. It can be inherited from either the mother's side or the father's side. Because of the other factors involved, it can sometimes skip generations, but not always. The hereditary condition is called androgenetic alopecia. It affects 40 million men and 20 million women of all races in the U.S. There are many over-the-counter treatments for hair loss, though none is totally affective. There is currently no cure for baldness.

Causes

• Male and female pattern baldness is caused by something called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT comes from androgen, a male hormone. DHT binds to hair follicle receptors, causing them to grow thinner hair. The more DHT you have in your bloodstream, the more likely you are to lose your hair. Eventually, the hair follicles wither away, leaving the person bald.

  Other causes of hair loss include chemotherapy, anemia, thyroid conditions, hormonal problems, stress, scalp fungus and certain medications.

Features

• Most men lose their hair in a distinct horseshoe pattern. The hairline recedes from the forehead, further and further back, until all that is left is a "horseshoe" of hair around the back of the head. Female pattern baldness is more diffusive, as women experience a general thinning of the hair. Hair loss most often starts in the late 20s to late 30s, though some people go bald in their teens. The biggest consequence is the loss of self-esteem.

Heredity

• While scientists have yet to identify a single gene responsible for hair loss, androgenetic alopecia is a hereditary condition. A 2008 study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology suggests that a gene on the X-chromosome, EDA2R, may play a significant role in male pattern baldness. As men inherit their X-chromosome from their mother, this means that it's likely that at least one of the factors that cause hair loss is hereditary through the maternal line. However, other genes that are not sex-linked also seem to be involved.

Treatment

• There is currently no effective cure for baldness. Minoxidil, a topical medication, has been shown to slow hair loss, but not stop it entirely. If the person stops using minoxidil, hair loss resumes at the same rate. Finasteride is another drug that has been show to reduce hair loss and even cause new hair to grow.

  Wigs, toupees and hair transplants remain popular solutions to disguise hair loss. There are also many alternative medicines, such as magnesium, zinc, iron, and vitamin E, which have had varying degrees of success at combating baldness.

Warning

• There are many dietary supplements on the market claiming to reverse hair loss. Alternative medicine isn't regulated as tightly by the FDA as more conventional medicine. It's important to do some research and talk to a doctor before taking any of the supplements. Some may be completely ineffective; others do more harm than good. Just because something is "natural" doesn't mean that it's safe.