Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0240066 (iron deficiency)
 7,156 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium are the primary nonscarring alopecias found in clinical practice. Androgenetic alopecia is considered to be the most common form of human alopecia and is postulated to affect more than 50% of men by age 50. Alopecia areata affects up to 2% of the U.S. population. Telogen effluvium frequently occurs after major life events, such as a severe illness, childbirth, or high fever, and may be associated with the use of certain medications or iron deficiency, particularly in women. The focus of this review is on the medical treatment of these common hair loss conditions.
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PMID:Medical treatment of noncicatricial alopecia. 1661 3

Telogen effluvium (TE) is the most common cause of diffuse hair loss in adult females. TE, along with female pattern hair loss (FPHL) and chronic telogen effluvium (CTE), accounts for the majority of diffuse alopecia cases. Abrupt, rapid, generalized shedding of normal club hairs, 2-3 months after a triggering event like parturition, high fever, major surgery, etc. indicates TE, while gradual diffuse hair loss with thinning of central scalp/widening of central parting line/frontotemporal recession indicates FPHL. Excessive, alarming diffuse shedding coming from a normal looking head with plenty of hairs and without an obvious cause is the hallmark of CTE, which is a distinct entity different from TE and FPHL. Apart from complete blood count and routine urine examination, levels of serum ferritin and T3, T4, and TSH should be checked in all cases of diffuse hair loss without a discernable cause, as iron deficiency and thyroid hormone disorders are the two common conditions often associated with diffuse hair loss, and most of the time, there are no apparent clinical features to suggest them. CTE is often confused with FPHL and can be reliably differentiated from it through biopsy which shows a normal histology in CTE and miniaturization with significant reduction of terminal to vellus hair ratio (T:V < 4:1) in FPHL. Repeated assurance, support, and explanation that the condition represents excessive shedding and not the actual loss of hairs, and it does not lead to baldness, are the guiding principles toward management of TE as well as CTE. TE is self limited and resolves in 3-6 months if the trigger is removed or treated, while the prognosis of CTE is less certain and may take 3-10 years for spontaneous resolution. Topical minoxidil 2% with or without antiandrogens, finestride, hair prosthesis, hair cosmetics, and hair surgery are the therapeutically available options for FPHL management.
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PMID:Diffuse hair loss in an adult female: approach to diagnosis and management. 1917 26

Crohn's disease usually manifests gastrointestinal symptoms, however in some cases the patient presents with prominent or even exclusive extraintestinal involvement. Alopecia has been reported as a complication of therapeutic agents used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and, in a few cases of adult patients, prior to the appearance of gastrointestinal symptoms. We present a 10 year-old-child with telogen effluvium that appeared one year before the diagnosis of Crohn's disease, as the first and only symptom at that time. Other systemic causes of hair loss such as micronutrient deficiencies, endocrine imbalance or chemical exposure were excluded. Eight months later the patient presented with mild iron deficiency and signs of social retraction, while two months before the final diagnosis of Crohn's disease other more characteristic alarming symptoms (mild fever, oral apthous ulcers, weight loss) were added to the clinical picture. Alopecia improved after remission of Crohn's disease, reappeared when the patient relapsed, and finally resolved gradually when complete remission of Crohn's disease was achieved. Telogen effluvium was the first symptom of Crohn's disease in a child, and, although this is a rare association, it should be considered as an extraintestinal manifestation of Crohn's disease.
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PMID:Telogen effluvium as the first symptom of Crohn's disease in a child. 2533 Jul 58