甲状腺激素与男、女性脱发
早就有文献【1】显示甲状腺功能异常和稀疏型脱发有一定的关系,甲状腺功能异常除了会造成脱发外,甚至会影响身体其他部位毛发的生长,比如眉毛和体毛。
2013年专门有一篇文献【2】:A Descriptive Study of Alopecia Patterns and their Relation to Thyroid Dysfunction(脱发类型及其与甲状腺功能障碍关系的描述性研究)
通过大量的数据分析,得到的一些初步结论:
(1)女性脱发和甲状腺激素有关的概率比男性脱发更大,女性如果甲状腺激素分泌不足严重,甚至会影响女性雄性脱发;
(2)儿童甲状腺激素异常也可能导致脱发发生;
(3)很多严重斑秃症状和甲状腺自体免疫症状有关;
1947年,默克制药对甲状腺功能异常的症状描述为:
Gradual onset of apathy, gain in weight, edema, especially of hands, feet and face (‘full moon-like’ face and coarse features). Skin dry and scaly. Hair becomes brittle and thin, nails rough, striated and break easily. There are lassitude, fatiguability, drowsiness, imperfect cerebration, even psychosis; poor appetite and constipation; pulse slow, blood pressure low, temperature subnormal; menstruation irregular; may cease or become excessive. Anemia in majority of cases. High cholesterol. (The Merck Manual, 1947)
逐渐出现冷漠,体重增加,水肿,尤其是手,脚和脸(满月状脸和粗糙特征)。皮肤干燥鳞屑。头发变脆变稀,指甲粗糙,横纹且容易折断。有倦怠,易疲劳,嗜睡,大脑变得模糊,甚至精神病;食欲不振和便秘;脉搏慢,血压低,体温不正常;月经不调;可能停止或变得过多。多数情况下贫血。高胆固醇。(《默克手册》,1947年)
我们应该知道:甲状腺功能异常有可能导致脱发,但甲状腺功能异常还可以造成很多其他症状,往往较为严重的甲状腺功能异常才会表现为头发脱落,女性脱发由甲状腺功能异常造成的可能性要高于男性,甲状腺激素异常造成的脱发在甲状腺激素被干预后可以恢复,在脱发人群中,因为甲状腺激素造成脱发的人并不是特别多。
2009年发表的学术论文【3】:Diffuse hair loss in an adult female: approach to diagnosis and management.(成年女性弥散性脱发:诊断与处理方法),这篇文章摘要对女性脱发的分类和治疗方案概括的比较准确客观:
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.
(注意:以下翻译中我将FPHL直接翻译为女性脱发,关于这个名词我在文章《写给女性发友的肺腑之言》中说过,此处不再赘述,你知道女性脱发是一个专有名词,指代你理解的女性雄性脱发。)
休止期脱发是成年女性弥散性脱发最常见的原因。休止期脱发,女性脱发(我们常说的女性雄性脱发)以及慢性休止期脱发占据了绝大多数女性脱发的比例。在女性生育、高烧或者大型手术两三个月之后的突然地、快速地大量的正常头发脱落往往预示着休止期脱发,而头顶头发逐渐变细、变稀,以及头顶发缝变宽往往预示着女性脱发。没有明显诱因,大量的令人担忧的弥散性脱发往往是慢性休止期脱发的特征。对于没有原因的头发稀疏症状,除了常规的血液检查和尿检之外,还应该做血清铁蛋白和甲状腺激素(T3,T4,TSH)等相关检查,因为缺铁和甲状腺激素异常往往和头发稀疏相关,而且往往没有其他临床症状。慢性休止期脱发往往和女性脱发(女性雄性脱发)相混淆,这个可以通过头发组织活检进行可靠区分:慢性休止期脱发一般终毛,头发正常、健康,而女性脱发会出现很多的绒毛(头发变细的不健康头发),如果终毛和绒毛之比小于4:1则可以判定为女性脱发。反复的保证、支持以及证明休止期脱发以及慢性休止期脱发只是头发的大量脱落,并不代表毛囊的萎缩和死亡(这和女性脱发有本质区别)是治疗休止期脱发和慢性休止期脱发的主要原则。休止期脱发往往是一种自限性症状,在诱因消除后的三到六个月间可能会自动回复,而这种慢性的休止期脱发预后并不明确,有些可能需要3到10年的时间才可能慢慢逐渐恢复正常。而对于典型的女性脱发的治疗则需要用2%的外用米诺地尔,配合或者不配合抗雄性激素药物(如螺内酯),非那雄胺、假发或者植发手术来进行治疗。
关键点:
(1)女性脱发和休止期脱发(无论是急性还是慢性)的主要区别在于头发有没有萎缩或者变成绒毛的趋势,我在文章《脱发的本质过程是头发从终毛到毫毛的过渡》中说过,雄性脱发的本质过程是毛囊的萎缩,这是它和休止期脱发、斑秃的本质区别,这也是休止期脱发和斑秃不需要治疗或者容易被治好的关键之处;
(2)以上内容可以被类比到男性脱发中,有些男性本质上也属于休止期脱发,特别是一些不属于典型雄性脱发的男性脱发,我一直强调男性脱发不要着急着用药物治疗,因为在脱发初期容易把休止期脱发和雄性脱发搞混,很多炫耀自己用防脱发洗发水治好脱发的人就属于休止期脱发或者斑秃,可以不治自愈的;
(3)总体而言,男女休止期脱发都不需要特殊治疗,只需要自我调理即可,心理上应该清楚休止期脱发不会秃顶,而且有可能自愈;
在我写完文章《你好,年轻的发友》之后,一些悲观者认为我不建议年轻人去治疗脱发,这是完全错误的,我建议大家理智的,用科学的方法去对抗脱发,而不是用各种各样的洗发水去自欺欺人,有些脱发不需要治疗,有些脱发可以用科学的方法防止,有正确认知,做正确选择,才是理智的年轻人。
今晚是双11的前夕,不断有人问我XX洗发水治疗脱发的效果如何,每次被人问及,我都有一种拉黑对方的冲动。在英国The Idle Man电商网站平台上有专门文章对含咖啡因的洗发水(Alpecin)进行了测评:Does Alpecin Shampoo Help Hair Loss?(欧倍青洗发水会预防脱发吗?),看看欧洲人如何评价这款被国人吹捧来自欧洲的防脱发神奇药水。我曾经也专门写过文相关文章《咖啡因真的能治疗雄性脱发吗?》如果咖啡因洗发水真的可以治疗雄性脱发,那么爱喝咖啡的人应该就不会脱发。
我直接翻译文章结论:
Theres currently no shampoo for bald heads that will give you long glossy locks, and although male pattern baldness can be hard to deal with at times, Alpecin reviewer, Gerard ODoherty summed up his thoughts on growing bald perfectly,Underneath every full head of hair is a funky baldass waiting to emerge, youre just ahead of the curve.
目前并没有可以治疗雄性脱发的洗发水能让你长出秀发,雄性脱发有时候很难处理,欧倍青的审查者Gerard ODoherty在总结欧倍青的生发功能时说:每一头完美秀发下都是一个等待脱发的时髦光头,你不过遥遥领先别人罢了。
欧洲人并不认为这些洗发水有什么防脱效果,但是到了中国就火起来了,月是故乡明,防脱发洗发水是外国的好用,我不建议你购买专用的防脱发洗发水,如果非得买的话尽量买国产的支持国货总是好的。
关于双十一,我没有什么不得不买的好物可以分享给各位,但我希望理智的各位不要在双十一购买防脱发洗发水,无论它多么便宜。因为这是对智商的侮辱。
参考文献:
【1】Church RE. Hypothyroid hair loss. Br J Dermatol. 1965;77:661–2.
【2】Vincent M, Yogiraj K. A Descriptive Study of Alopecia Patterns and their Relation to Thyroid Dysfunction.Int J Trichology. 2013;5(1):57–60. doi:10.4103/0974-7753.114701
【3】Shrivastava S B . Diffuse hair loss in an adult female: approach to diagnosis and management.[J]. Indian Journal of Dermatology Venereology & Leprology, 2009, 75(1):20.