Changes in hair weight in men with androgenetic alopecia after treatment with finasteride (1 mg daily): three- and 4-year results.

Background: We previously reported the effects of finasteride on scalp hair weight and count over a 2-year period in men with androgenetic alopecia (AGA).

Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate the effects of finasteride on hair weight and count over 4 years in men with AGA.

Methods: Men with AGA were randomized to receive finasteride (1 mg/d) or placebo for 192 weeks.

Structural and molecular hair abnormalities in trichothiodystrophy.

We examined hair from 15 patients with trichothiodystrophy (TTD), a rare inherited disorder with brittle, cystine-deficient hair. They had a wide variety of phenotypes, from brittle hair only to severe intellectual impairment and developmental delay. Polarizing light microscopic examination showed alternating light and dark (tiger tail) bands under polarizing microscopy.

Characterization of tiger-tail banding and hair shaft abnormalities in trichothiodystrophy.

Background: Tiger tail banding under polarizing light microscopy and hair shaft abnormalities are associated with trichothiodystrophy (TTD), a rare disorder with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations.

Objective: To characterize the frequency, specificity, and extent of tiger tail banding and hair shaft abnormalities in the spectrum of TTD patients.

Methods: We developed a standardized procedure for microscopic hair examination and studied hairs from 14 TTD and 4 xeroderma pigmentosum (XP)-TTD patients for tiger tail banding and hair shaft abnormalities.

The orientation of the alpha-helices in alpha-keratin fibres.

Considerable physical evidence has been accumulated in support of the polarity of alpha-keratin fibres and is summarised here. Dielectric loss and dielectric dipole movement in dry intact fibres as they undergo thermal transition above 200 degrees C show alpha-keratin to be a polar structure. X-ray diffraction has shown that this transition corresponds to the randomisation of the organised alpha-helical structure resulting in the loss of polarity of the fibre.

Changes in hair weight and hair count in men with androgenetic alopecia after treatment with finasteride, 1 mg, daily.

Background: Finasteride, a type II 5alpha-reductase inhibitor, reduces scalp and serum dihydrotestosterone and has been shown to be effective in men with androgenetic alopecia (AGA).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of finasteride on scalp hair weight in men with AGA.

Methods: Sixty-six men with AGA received finasteride, 1 mg/d, or placebo in a 48-week study, and 49 men continued in a 48-week extension.