WHAT REALLY CAUSES HAIR LOSS?  THREE MAIN FACTORS

To begin with, three things need to occur in order for one to lose hair due to common pattern hair loss, AKA androgenetic alopecia (AGA) --- by far the most prevalent form of hair loss affecting 60 million American men and women.  

FIRST:  

Gender notwithstanding, one needs to have the genetic susceptibility to experience AGA.  This means that a person needs to inherit genes that render susceptible to the biochemical triggers that result in clinical hair loss.  This means that if you have experienced pattern hair loss then someone in your family -- probably several 'someones' also experienced hair loss in their lifetime and passed AGA susceptibility genes down to you.

SECOND:  

One needs to reach a certain age.  Nine year old children do not experience pattern hair loss.  Interestingly, 20% of people begin losing hair in their twenties, 30% in their thirties, 40% in their forties and so on.

THIRD:  

Finally, one needs to have the circulating hormones that precipitate pattern hair loss.  No circulating androgen hormones, no pattern hair loss.  This has been conclusively demonstrated through a number of studies, including research undertaken on a population of folks with 5 alpha-reductase insufficiency.  Such individuals do not suffer from AGA.

Therefore, each of these three factors, genetics, chronobiology, and biochemistry must be present simultaneously and variations in each of them can profoundly influence the onset and progression of the disorder.  Furthermore, it is widely understood that a fairly large number of genes are at play ---  however the specifics of their interactions have not been fully worked out.  This is one reason why there is so much variation in the way people manifest common pattern hair loss.

Further, although it is widely understood that testosterone metabolizes dihydrotestosterone (DHT) as its most active metabolite, in and of itself, DHT is only one factor in the disease process.  Recently, research studies, including one conducted by the University of Albany testing new Generation IV HairGenesis®, have shown the importance of inflammation in the hair follicle.  By simultaneously targeting inflammation and DHT, new Generation IV HairGenesis® constitutes a novel dual-pronged approach to treating AGA, with the potential for enhanced clinical outcomes.

As time passes, a greater understanding of pattern hair loss will allow for the design and creation of even better treatment formulations.  Work continues in our lab and elsewhere with this important goal in mind.