Telogen effluvium is a

scalp The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the human face at the front, and by the neck at the sides and back. Structure The scalp is usually described as having five layers, which can conveniently be remembered as a mnemonic: * S: The ski ...

disorder characterized by the thinning or shedding of

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

resulting from the early entry of hair in the telogen phase (the resting phase of the hair follicle).Marks, James G; Miller, Jeffery (2006). ''Lookingbill and Marks' Principles of Dermatology'' (4th ed.). Elsevier Inc. Page 263. .James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005). ''Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology''. (10th ed.). Saunders. . It is in this phase that telogen hairs begin to shed at an increased rate, where normally the approximate rate of

hair loss Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scar ...

(having no effect on one's appearance) is 125 hairs per day. There are 5 potential alterations in the hair cycle that could lead to this shedding: immediate anagen release, delayed anagen release, short anagen syndrome, immediate telogen release, and delayed telogen release. * Immediate anagen release occurs when follicles leave anagen and are stimulated to enter telogen prematurely. The effects become visible 2–3 months later with increased telogen effluvium. * Delayed anagen release, most commonly associated with

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

, involves the prolongation of anagen under the effect of pregnancy hormones, resulting in delayed but synchronous and heavy postpartum hair shedding. * Short anagen syndrome is characterized by an idiopathic and persistent telogen hair shedding, as well as the inability to grow hair long. This is a result of the shortening of the duration of anagen, meaning a greater number of telogen hairs at any given time, and is responsible for the majority of chronic TE cases. * Immediate telogen release generally occurs with drug-induced shortening of telogen leading to the premature reentrance of follicles to anagen, which causes a massive release of club (telogen) hairs. Drugs such as

minoxidil Minoxidil, sold under the brand name Rogaine among others, is a medication used for the treatment of high blood pressure and pattern hair loss. It is an antihypertensive vasodilator. It is available as a generic medication by prescription in or ...

can precipitate immediate telogen release. * Delayed telogen release involves a prolonged telogen phase followed by a delayed transition to anagen. This occurs in animals with synchronous hair cycles that shed their hair or winter coats seasonally. This is also sometimes responsible for seasonal hair loss in humans. Emotional or physiological stress may result in an alteration of the normal hair cycle and cause the disorder, with potential causes including eating disorders,

crash diet A very-low-calorie diet (VLCD), also known as semistarvation diet and crash diet, is a type of diet with very or extremely low daily food energy consumption. Often described as a fad diet, it is defined as a diet of per day or less. Modern medica ...

s, pregnancy and

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...

, chronic illness, major

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...

, severe emotional disorders, hypothyroidism, and

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

s.Freedberg, et al. (2003). ''Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine''. (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. . Diagnostic tests, which may be performed to verify the diagnosis, include a trichogram,

trichoscopy Trichoscopy is a method of hair and scalp evaluation and is used for diagnosing hair and scalp diseases. The method is based on dermoscopy. In trichoscopy hair and scalp structures may be visualized at many-fold magnification. Currently magnificat ...

and

biopsy A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiologist. The process involves extraction of sample cells or tissues for examination to determine the presence or extent of a dise ...

. Effluvium can present with similar appearance to alopecia totalis, with further distinction by clinical course, microscopic examination of plucked follicles, or biopsy of the scalp. Histology would show telogen hair follicles in the dermis with minimal inflammation in effluvium, and dense peribulbar

lymphocytic A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell (leukocyte) in the immune system of gnathostomata, most vertebrates. Lymphocytes include natural killer cells (which function in cell-mediated immunity, cell-mediated, cytotoxicity, cytotoxic innate imm ...

infiltrate in alopecia totalis.

Vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...

levels may also play a role in the normal hair cycle. Many new cosmetic treatments have been reported, including stemoxydine, Nioxin,

, and a leave-on technology combination:

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...

niacinamide Niacinamide or Nicotinamide (NAM) is a form of vitamin B3 found in food and used as a dietary supplement and medication. As a supplement, it is used by mouth to prevent and treat pellagra (niacin deficiency). While nicotinic acid (niacin) may b ...

panthenol Panthenol (also called pantothenol) is the alcohol analog of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), and is thus a provitamin of B5. In organisms, it is quickly oxidized to pantothenic acid. It is a viscous transparent liquid at room temperature. Pantheno ...

dimethicone Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), also known as dimethylpolysiloxane or dimethicone, belongs to a group of polymeric organosilicon compounds that are commonly referred to as silicones. PDMS is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer, as i ...

, and an

acrylate polymer An acrylate polymer (also known as acrylic or polyacrylate) is any of a group of polymers prepared from acrylate monomers. These plastics are noted for their transparency, resistance to breakage, and elasticity. Acrylate polymer is commonly use ...

(CNPDA). This treatment has shown to increase the diameter of existing, individual scalp hair fibres by 2–5 μm, yielding a significant increase of approximately 10% in the cross-sectional area of each hair. Additionally, CNPDA-thickened hairs also demonstrate altered mechanical properties of thicker fibres; increased suppleness/pliability, and increased ability to withstand force without breaking.

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{{Disorders of skin appendages Conditions of the skin appendages Human hair Hair diseases

See also

References

External links