Dermatology, Mental Health Research / 26.07.2024

Hair loss can have profound psychological effects, impacting self-esteem and overall well-being. However, advancements in hair loss treatments, such as Minoxidil, offer hope by not only addressing physical symptoms but also improving mental health outcomes. Understanding the psychological benefits of these treatments is crucial for individuals seeking to regain confidence and emotional balance.

Addressing the Emotional Impact of Hair Loss

Hair loss is more than a cosmetic concern; it can significantly affect mental health. Many individuals experience feelings of embarrassment, anxiety, and reduced self-confidence due to changes in their appearance. Effective hair loss treatments play a pivotal role in alleviating these psychological burdens, fostering a positive outlook and enhancing quality of life.

How Minoxidil Works

Minoxidil, a topical medication approved by the FDA for hair loss treatment, stimulates hair follicles' growth phase and increases hair density. It promotes blood flow to the scalp, revitalizing dormant follicles and encouraging new hair growth. Minoxidil hair treatment offers a proactive approach that not only addresses thinning hair but also restores confidence in one's appearance. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology / 14.05.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Naeem Bhojani, MD, FRCSC Division of Urology, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada David-Dan Nguyen MPH Division of Urological Surgery and Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada  MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: In a recent study by our group published in JAMA Dermatology (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2772818), finasteride use was found to be associated with increased reporting of suicidality and depression in young patients with androgenetic alopecia. This previous analysis suggested that the association between finasteride and depression might be mediated by sexual dysfunction. Building on this work, we conducted this second analysis to examine the association between finasteride use and reports of sexual dysfunction. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Dermatology, JAMA, McGill, Mental Health Research / 17.11.2020

Editor's note: This piece discusses suicide. If you have experienced suicidal thoughts or have lost someone to suicide and want to seek help, you can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting "START" to 741-741 or call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.  MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David-Dan Nguyen, MPH Research Fellow | Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital Medical Student | McGill University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is ongoing concern about the side-effects of finasteride, a drug used for the management of alopecia and benign prostatic hyperplasia. These concerns have led to the coining of the “post-finasteride syndrome” which remains controversial. Indeed, there is conflicting evidence on the post-finasteride syndrome/adverse events associated with finasteride. We wanted to contribute to this conflicting body of evidence by examining suicidality, depression, and anxiety reports linked to finasteride use using the WHO’s pharmacovigilance database, VigiBase. Such pharmacovigilance databases are useful for the study of rare adverse events that are suspected to be associated with medication use. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Pediatrics / 25.07.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eunyoung Cho, Sc.D. Associate Professor and Director of Research Department of Dermatology The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We are interested in whether flares of alopecia area (AA), one of the most common autoimmune diseases resulting in sudden loss of scalp and facial hair, follow seasonal patterns and whether these potential patterns are related to climate factors.  We recently analyzed a set of data on pediatric AA flares, which demonstrated seasonal patterns, with the largest number of flares in the fall, finding that climate factors such as UV index were correlated with the AA flare frequency of patients in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a geographical region with four distinct seasons.  Here, we explored the seasonal patterns and contribution of climate factors in pediatric AA patients in Providence, Rhode Island, another geographical region with four distinct seasons, to test whether we can replicate our previous findings. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics / 15.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lucia Diaz, M.D., is chief of pediatric dermatology, dermatology residency associate program director and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Dell Medical School. She is also co-director of the dermatology-rheumatology combined clinic at Dell Children’s Medical Center. Sasha Jaquez, Ph.D. is a pediatric psychologist at Dell Children's Medical School/Dell Children's Medical Center and specializes in seeing children with chronic medical illness, including skin disorders.     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Trichotillomania (TTM) can be an extremely disabling chronic condition that impacts the psychosocial development of children. It is classified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as an obsessive-compulsive disorder, where a person recurrently pulls out hair from any region of their body resulting in hair loss. Recognizing this disorder and being informed of treatment options allows medical providers to correctly diagnose and intervene early in the disease course. We reviewed the psychosocial impacts of pediatric trichotillomania and the current evidence-based interventions used in the population.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology / 19.02.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eli Sprecher MD PhD Professor and Chair, Division of Dermatology Deputy Director General for R&D and Innovation Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Frederick Reiss Chair of Dermatology Sackler Faculty of Medicine Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel and MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is a form of hair loss (alopecia) which is extremely common and affects one in every 20 women of African origin. It starts usually during the fourth decade of life. Because it can be inherited from mothers to their children, it is thought to have a genetic basis. On the other hand, it is known to mainly affect women who use to groom their hair intensively. Thus it was thought that the disease stems from some form of inherited susceptibility to the damage incurred to the hair follicle by grooming habits. In the study we published, we searched for the genetic basis of CCCA. In contrast with the common form of alopecia (androgenetic alopecia or female pattern alopecia), CCCA is associated with scarring of the scalp skin, which means that once hair is lost, it will likely not re-grow. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Technology / 19.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: photostimulation of hair growthHan Eol Lee Ph.D. Flexible and Nanobio Device Lab. Department of Materials Science and Engineering KAIST MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Numerous people around the world have suffered from alopecia, which leads to aesthetic issues, low self-esteem, and social anxiety. With the population expansion alopecia patients from middle-age down even to the twenties, a depilation treatment is expected to have social and medical impacts on billions of patients. The causes of alopecia are generally known to be heredity, mental stress, aging, and elevated male hormone. Therapeutic techniques such as thermal, electrical, pharmacological, and optical stimulation have been proposed to treat hair problems. Among them, laser stimulation to hair-lost regions is a promising technique, activating the anagen phase and the proliferation of hair follicles without side effects. However, this laser stimulation technique has drawbacks, such as high power consumption, large size, and restrictive use in daily life (e.g., the difficulty of microscale spatial control and the long time exposure of high-energy laser).  (more…)
Author Interviews, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Breast Cancer, Dermatology, JAMA / 15.02.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julie Rani Nangia, M.D. Assistant Professor Breast Center - Clinic Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX, US MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study was fueled by the feedback from women undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. One of the most distressing side effects of their treatment is hair loss. It robs them of their anonymity and, for many, their femininity. Scalp cooling therapy has been available for a few years in the UK, but has faced obstacles in FDA clearance in the states. The makers of the scalp cooling device used in this study, Paxman Coolers Ltd., have a personal connection to breast cancer, as the company founder’s wife passed away from the disease. This was the first randomized scalp cooling study, and it shows that the Paxman Hair Loss Prevention System is an effective therapy for reducing chemotherapy-induced alopecia. The results show a 50% increase in hair preservation of grade 0 or 1, meaning use of a scarf or wig is not necessary, in patients who received the scalp cooling therapy as opposed to those who did not. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Dermatology, Immunotherapy / 15.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Morton Scheinberg, MD, PhD From Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein and Hospital AACD, São Paulo, and Clinica Dermatosineida, Maringa, Parana, Brazil. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: That universal hair loss associated with a localized autoimmune reaction on the cells involved with the hair follicles can be halted with tofacitinib. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA / 25.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lisa Earnest Ishii, M.D. Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryJohns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland 21287 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Hair transplantation for men suffering from male pattern hair loss is a common procedure to improve their appearance. However, to the best of our knowledge the impact of the procedure for men with hair loss had never been clearly demonstrated. We showed, for the first time, that men who undergo the procedure can have real improvements in attractiveness, age, and the appearance of successfulness as perceived by the casual observer in society. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Colon Cancer, Dermatology, Nature, Testosterone / 14.01.2016

More on Colon Cancer on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Nana Keum, PhD Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Keum: Male pattern baldness, the most common type of hair loss in men, is positively associated with androgens as well as IGF-1 and insulin, all of which are implicated in pathogenesis of colorectal neoplasia.  Therefore, it is biologically plausible that male pattern baldness, as a marker of underlying aberration in the regulation of the aforementioned hormones, may be associated with colorectal neoplasia.  In our study that examined the relationship between five male hair pattern at age 45 years (no-baldness, frontal-only-baldness, frontal-plus-mild-vertex-baldness, frontal-plus-moderate-vertex-baldness, and frontal-plus-severe-vertex-baldness) and the risk of colorectal adenoma and cancer, we found that frontal-only-baldness and frontal-plus-mild-vertex-baldness were associated with approximately 30% increased risk of colon cancer relative to no-baldness.  Frontal-only-baldness was also positively associated with colorectal adenoma. (more…)
Author Interviews, Prostate Cancer, University of Pennsylvania / 28.03.2013

MEDICALRESEARCH.COM INTERVIEW WITH Charnita Zeigler-Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H. Research Assistant Professor CCEB University of Pennsylvania MEDICALRESEARCH.COM: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zeigler-Johnson: The main findings of the study are:
  • Younger African-American men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer at an early age (under the age of 60) are more likely to have had a personal history of early-onset baldness (baldness by age 30.)
  • For older patients, this is not necessarily the case, and future studies will need to focus on which factors place men in this age group at risk for prostate cancer. (more…)