YOU ARE NOW CONNECTED TO THE TOXLINE (1981 FORWARD, NON-ROYALTY) FILE. ==HAIR LOSS IN WOMEN== 5 AUTHOR Burke KE TITLE Hair loss. What causes it and what can be done about it. SOURCE Postgrad Med; VOL 85, ISS 6, 1989, P52-8, 67-73, 77 (REF: 21) ABSTRACT Although both men and women throughout history have seen hair as an important aspect of appearance, it is especially important today, in light of the great emphasis on youthfulness. A new interest in preventing baldness has been stimulated recently by the publicity given to certain products now under investigation that have shown an ability to retard or reverse male pattern baldness in certain individuals. Hair loss has many possible causes, such as systemic diseases, infections, toxic agents, and hormone imbalances. Treatment of the underlying disorder alleviates the shedding of hair. Balding may also be a normal physiologic occurrence in women taking oral contraceptives or after parturition and in men with male pattern baldness. The latter can be treated topically with progesterone or minoxidil. Minoxidil has been studied extensively and has been shown to improve balding at the vertex of the scalp, particularly in young men who have only begun to lose hair. Cases of more extensive male pattern baldness and baldness secondary to scarring can be treated effectively with surgical procedures. 1 AUTHOR Tosi A AUTHOR Misciali C AUTHOR Piraccini BM AUTHOR Peluso AM AUTHOR Bardazzi F TITLE Drug-induced hair loss and hair growth. Incidence, management and avoidance. SOURCE Drug Saf; VOL 10, ISS 4, 1994, P310-7 (REF: 42) ABSTRACT A large number of drugs may interfere with the hair cycle and produce hair loss. Drugs may affect anagen follicles through 2 main different modalities: (i) by inducing an abrupt cessation of mitotic activity in rapidly dividing hair matrix cells (anagen effluvium) or (ii) by precipitating the follicles into premature rest (telogen effluvium). In anagen effluvium, hair loss usually occurs within days to weeks of drug administration, whereas in telogen effluvium, hair loss becomes evident 2 to 4 months after starting treatment. Anagen effluvium is a prominent adverse effect of antineoplastic agents, which cause acute damage of rapidly dividing hair matrix cells. Telogen effluvium may be a consequence of a large number of drugs including anticoagulants, retinol (vitamin A) and its derivatives, interferons and antihyperlipidaemic drugs. Drug-induced hair loss is usually reversible after interruption of treatment. The prevalence and severity of alopecia depend on the drug as well as on individual predisposition. Some drugs produce hair loss in most patients receiving appropriate dosages while other drugs are only occasionally responsible for hair abnormalities. Both hirsutism and hypertrichosis may be associated with drug administration. Drugs most commonly responsible for the development of hirsutism include testosterone, danazol, corticotrophin (ACTH), metyrapone, anabolic steroids and glucocorticoids. Hypertrichosis is a common adverse effect of cyclosporin, minoxidil and diazoxide. 15 AUTHOR Gollnick H AUTHOR Blume U AUTHOR Orfanos CE TITLE [Adverse drug reactions on hair] SOURCE Z Hautkr; VOL 65, ISS 12, 1990, P1128-34 (REF: 51) ABSTRACT Adverse drug reactions on the hair are common side effects. The spectrum of loss of hair reaches from diffuse telogen effluvium up to circumscribed or diffuse alopecia on the scalp, sometimes also including other body areas. Other side effects observed are the stimulation of hair growth with hypertrichosis and induction or worsening of hirsutism, as well as changes of the structure or color of the hair. In most cases--other than those treated with cytostatics, androgens, or hormonal contraceptives with some androgenic effect--it is rather difficult to determine the time of onset and primary cause, since the diffuse types often start subclinically, and other factors may play an additional part. As a rule, adverse drug reactions are reversible provided the causative drug is avoided. YOU ARE NOW CONNECTED TO THE TOXLINE65 (1965 - 80, NON-ROYALTY) FILE. 16 AUTHOR Selzle D AUTHOR Wolff HH TITLE [Exogeneous hair damage caused by bleaching and cold waving. A case report with scanning electron microscope studies] SOURCE Hautarzt; VOL 27, ISS 9, 1976, P453-6 ABSTRACT A case of exogeneous hair damage caused by bleaching and cold waving is reported. The clinical picture showed brittle, lustreless, fallow hair. The light microscope showed irregular spreading of the cuticular cells. The scanning electron microscope revealed loss of the regular cuticular pattern, breakage of the edges of the cuticular cells, and wave-like separations of the cuticular cells from the cortex. The hair shafts showed multiple longitudinal indentations like seen on a tree trunk. YOU ARE NOW CONNECTED TO THE MEDLINE (1994 - 97) FILE. 1 AUTHOR Lurie R AUTHOR Danziger Y AUTHOR Kaplan Y AUTHOR Sulkes J AUTHOR Abramson E AUTHOR Mimouni M TITLE Acquired pili torti--a structural hair shaft defect in anorexia nervosa. SOURCE Cutis 1996 Mar;57(3):151-6 ABSTRACT The hair of seventeen girls aged 13 to 19 years with anorexia nervosa (AN) was studied and compared with the hair of fifteen healthy girls aged 13 to 18 years with no complaints of hair loss but with similar habits of hairstyling and care. Light microscopic examination of the hair revealed no defect in the control group. In the AN group, fourteen patients (82.3 percent) had pili torti, an acquired hair shaft defect that has not yet been described in association with this disease. We estimate that the hair defect was due to malnutrition combined with ingestion of exaggerated amounts of yellow vegetables and vitamin supplements, causing a significant increase in levels of serum carotene, retinyl esters, retinol, and retinoic acid. We suggest a possible link between excess vitamin A and pili torti in patients with AN.