الفهرس 
HAIR BIOLOGYOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Female pattern hair loss, or androgenic alopecia, is the most common type of hair loss affecting women. The diagnosis of FPHL is largely clinical. Reduction in hair density over the crown and widening of the central part enable a confidant clinical diagnosis. Despite their disparities in clinical presentation, MAGA and FPHL are histologically indistinguishable, suggesting shared biomolecular mechanisms. Both conditions are a result of altered hair follicle cycling and miniaturization, which lead to the transformation of terminal to vellus hair follicles and the production of shorter, finer hair shafts.
Genetic predisposition and sex steroid hormones are implicated in the pathophysiology of this hair type disorder.
Without treatment, FPHL is progressive. The rate of progression has been estimated to be around 10% per year. There are several treatments that are effective in arresting the progression of the hair loss and, in some cases, stimulating partial regrowth of hair. Complete regrowth of hair does not occur. All treatments need to be maintained indefinitely for sustained effect. Medical management for FPHL consists of topical minoxidil, oral antiandrogens, or a combination of these modalities. Low-level light therapy (LLLT) has recently increased in popularity as a stand-alone or adjunctive treatment option for patients with AGA. Whereas minoxidil and finasteride are temporizing measurements and require continuous administration, hair restoration may serve as a definitive treatment. This procedure should ideally be performed on individuals who have reached a plateau in balding and have realistic expectations.
Since so much of the morbidity of FPHL lies in body image disturbances, cosmetic aids are an integral part of management options. These incorporate hair styling techniques, camouflage products, hair replacements, hair accessories, and additions are of great importance.
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone .It is long known for its essential role in calcium absorption and bone health, has more recently been implicated in other aspects of health, including prevention of cancer, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases. Suboptimal vitamin D levels may predispose individuals to many diseases.
It is well known that vitamin D has an important role in hair growth. Limited studies have been done in humans to elaborate the role of vitamin D in the hair cycle. A potential application for vitamin D is in chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Topical calcitriol has been shown to protect against chemotherapy-induced alopecia caused by paclitaxel and cyclophosphamide. It has been suggested that an optimal concentration of vitamin D is necessary to delay the aging phenomena, including hair loss.
Although extensive work has been done in AGA subjects in relation to other biomolecules like testosterone and other micronutrients e.g. trace elements, fewer studies exist which have addressed a possible link between androgenetic alopecia and serum vitamin levels.
The aim of this study was to evaluate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in female pattern hair loss patients to investigate whether there is an association between female pattern hair loss and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.
The current study included 80 subjects. Sixty female patients suffering from female pattern hair loss, aging from 20 to 35 years and twenty age and sex matched healthy controls.
Among these 60 patients, 47 patients (78.3%) showed deficient level of vitamin D (<20 ng/mL), 11 patients (18.3%) showed insufficient vitamin D level (21–29 ng/mL). Only 2 patients (3.3%) showed sufficient vitamin D level (>30 ng/mL).
Among the 20 healthy controls, 17 females (85.0%) showed sufficient vitamin D level (>30 ng/mL). The remaining 3 females (15.0%) showed deficient vitamin D level (<20 ng/mL). No controls showed vitamin D insufficiency.
In this current study, the mean vitamin D level among cases was 14.2, whilst that among controls was 45.9, thus a highly significant difference was present between cases and controls regarding mean vitamin D level .
These results confirm that there is a true association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D insufficiency/ deficiency and female pattern hair loss but the pathogenetic link is still not clarified. This study suggested that after adjustment of age, insufficient/ deficient vitamin D females have 177.7 the risk of developing female pattern hair loss compared to females with sufficient vitamin D level.
Further studies are, however, still recommended on a large scale of patients and controls to confirm our findings and to find the pathogenetic link between female pattern hair loss and serum vitamin D level.