Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata is the condition where the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles. When the immune system develops this behavior, the disease or disorder it causes is called an autoimmune disease. Therefore, Alopecia areata is characterized as an autoimmune disease. In a normal body, the immune system works to fend off pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. However, this peculiar condition involves the attack of hair follicles. Patients suffering from alopecia areata will notice bald spots and may sometimes be fully bald.
Unlike other rare genetic diseases, any person can develop this condition. However, genes may play a part in that a patient is at higher risk if his or her family members suffer from this condition. Typically symptoms are first seen during childhood, where the patient will notice globs of hair painlessly falling out. This condition has very few symptoms, where the highlight is the sudden hair loss. Some patients reported slow growing nails with dents and small pits.
A patient who is suffering from alopecia areata may grow their hair back, even fully. However, if the condition is triggered again, he or she will experience hair loss again. In some cases, some patients do not grow the hair back or only grow very little before the follicles begin to fall out again. In other cases, patients grow their hair back fully and another episode is never triggered again, leaving the one time hair loss episode a mystery. As of now, the concept of this condition is not very well understood, aside from a mishap in the immune system. Because of this, there is no cure or preventative suppressor that can help patients that suffer from this condition. Some patients mention that getting mildly sick or stressed can easily trigger their condition while others say it happens out of nowhere.
The current possible treatments for alopecia areata include utilizing hair growth treatments and sometimes immunotherapy. In other words, there are ways to alleviate the symptoms by promoting hair growth. However, because this disorder does not pose any health threats, many patients opt to simply leave their condition alone.
References:
https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/types/alopecia
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12423-alopecia-areata
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hair-loss/symptoms-causes/syc-20372926
