Emily Sortor  |  July 18, 2019

Alopecia Overview

Alopecia is broad term meaning hair loss. Alopecia can be caused by a number of factors, including autoimmune disorders, reaction to medication, and chemotherapy, among others.

Alopecia can affect all or parts of the body. In some cases, it is temporary, while in others, it’s a lifelong condition. The severity or duration of alopecia is often impacted by the type of alopecia.

Alopecia can come in a few forms, including the following, as noted by the American Academy of Dermatology:

  • Alopecia areata (hair loss in patches).
  • Alopecia totalis (lose all hair on the scalp).
  • Alopecia universalis (lose all hair on the body)

Symptoms

When alopecia is caused by chemotherapy, patients may encounter a number of symptoms as the hair loss progresses. Cancer.net states that in some cases of alopecia, a person’s hair may become thin. It may also become dryer or duller. 

In the case of alopecia caused by chemotherapy, hair loss usually does not start immediately, but begins a few weeks or cycles into treatment. Reportedly, it often increases one to two months into treatment.

Usually, the hair grows back between one to three months after chemotherapy ends.

Alopecia can also be an autoimmune disease. The National Alopecia Areata Foundation says that around 6.8 million people in the United States have an autoimmune condition causing alopecia areata. 

Causes

The National Alopecia Areata Foundation goes on to say that as an autoimmune disease, alopecia is genetic, but both parents must pass on a specific number of genes to their child for the child to develop the condition. So if you have alopecia, your children will not necessarily have the condition.

Alopecia areata is caused when a person’s immune system attacks their hair follicles, causing them to shrink and slow down hair production.

Treatment

There is no cure for alopecia aerata, but the disease can become inactive and hair can regrow. Even if you have not been able to grow hair for a long time, you can do so if your condition becomes inactive.

When hair loss occurs because of medication use, like chemotherapy, hair growth usually returns after the medication has stopped.

Some chemotherapy patients use treatments to prevent or reduce hair loss, such as cold caps and medications.

Complications

Self-esteem and self-image may be closely tied to one’s hair, so losing hair can cause emotional trauma. Cancer.net notes that some patients may benefit from having a therapist with whom they can share their feelings about hair loss.

Lawsuits Filed

Some patients claim that they suffered permanent hair loss after being prescribed the chemotherapy drug Taxotere. Lawsuits have been filed against the drug’s maker, Sanofi-Avenetis. The patients claim that the drug company knew, or should have known, that Taxotere could cause permanent hair loss, but misrepresented its hair loss side effect as only temporary.  

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.