The following study refers to chemo-therapy and resultant hair loss.  However, the definition of "Anagen Effluvium" posted as an additional item, along with my explanation for this review, indicates "Anagen Effluvium" is also caused by radiation exposure.      My granddaughter (B) asked me one morning a couple weeks ago whether I thought it was possible her hamster (a female, approx. 2 - 3 months old -- a Christmas gift ) to have lost her hair due to the cage being close to the TV set also located on her bedroom dresser.   I said "definitely" and before I could say more, she said,  ".....the cage and TV have been moved....."    She then looked up at me and asked, "are you scientist?    I replied, "no, but I am a researcher."    She said, "well, but you know scientists..."    I said, "yes," that I also write to scientists......."    She said, "Grandma, you are going to be famous...."    Before I could answer, she said, "I think you are famous......or will be some day........"   We discussed  EMF's and information re moving appliances as a possible topic to qualify her for a school broadcasting class.  I helped her write the brief report.   B looked up at me and said, "I think I am going to be a scientist...."      Well, for those of you who have been following my writing/interaction, etc., this work I do almost every day isn't about "ME....."  (but, my granddaughter's increased interest is/was very exciting)......   I am "about saving children (and really everyone who is being kept in the dark about what government and industry know is harming people)...from Leukemia and other health problems!!!"    Simple measures such as moving electrical items (some telephone equipment) can prevent every health problem from poor sleep to cancer!!!    [The necessary "first steps" to sorting out harm from the more distant exposures such as cellular antennae, high voltage powerlines and more.....]   It is naturally "very rewarding" for me to be the recipient of such "thoughtful innocence" by a concerned child who often loses her patience when I start to talk about "my EMF stories......"    I  know  that B is well on her way to helping in whatever way she can to make the world a better place for all!!! Joanne C. Mueller Guinea Pigs R Us 731 - 123rd Avenue N.W. Minneapolis, Minnesota  55448-2127 USA Phone:   763-755-6114 Email:    jcmpelican@aol.com   (3-07-07)   Facts don't cease to exist just because they are ignored.  --Aldous Huxley                           *                             *                            *   Study posted on E Medicine...WebMD.....
Anagen Effluvium Last Updated: May 3, 2006
Synonyms and related keywords: chemotherapy-induced alopecia, defluvium, telogen effluvium, hair loss, alopecia, catagen

Author: Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH, Professor and Head of Dermatology, Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Pathology, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Coauthor(s): Bryan D Seiff, MD, Staff Physician, Department of Ophthalmology, NY Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell; Pere Gascon, MD, PhD, Professor and Director, Division of Medical Oncology, Institute of Hematology and Medical Oncology, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona Faculty of Medicine, Spain

Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH, is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Physicians, and Sigma Xi

Editor(s): Günter Burg, MD, Professor and Chairman Emeritus, Department of Dermatology, University of Zürich School of Medicine, Switzerland; David F Butler, MD, Professor, Texas A&M University College of Medicine; Director, Division of Dermatology, Scott and White Clinic; Rosalie Elenitsas, MD, Associate Professor of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Director, Penn Cutaneous Pathology Services, Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Health System; Catherine Quirk, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Brown University; and Dirk M Elston, MD, Director, Department of Dermatology, Geisinger Medical Center

Background: Normal human hairs can be classified according to the 3 phases of their growth cycle: anagen, catagen, and telogen. Anagen hairs are in a growing phase, during which the matrix cells of the hair follicle undergo vigorous mitotic activity. These hairs have long, indented roots covered with intact inner and outer root sheaths, and they are fully pigmented.

Toward the end of the anagen phase, the amount of pigment decreases at the base of the follicle, which expands to form a keratinized club. Then, the hair enters the catagen phase, a transitional phase in which mitotic activity decreases. The follicle separates from the dermal papilla and the capillary plexus and moves upward within its connective tissue sheath toward the epidermis. The resulting telogen hairs, or club hairs, are in a resting phase. These hairs have short, club-shaped roots that anchor them in the follicle. They lack root sheaths and show depigmentation of the proximal part of the shaft.

The hairs continue in this resting state until the follicle spontaneously reenters the anagen phase. At this point, the club hairs are forced out by growing hairs underneath them, and the cycle begins anew. The cycle is not synchronous throughout the scalp; patches of hair may be synchronized. The length of each phase of the cycle, as well as the length of the entire cycle, varies with the site and the age of the patient. In the scalp, for example, the average length of the anagen phase is 1000 days; that of the catagen phase, only a few days; and that of the telogen phase, 100 days. Of the 100,000 hairs on the average scalp, 10-15% are in the catagen or telogen phase at any time. Most hair follicles are in the anagen stage at any given time.

Pathophysiology: Hair loss can be classified according to the stage of the hairs shed. Telogen effluvium is defined as the early and excessive loss of normal club hairs from normal resting follicles in the scalp. This hair loss usually results from trauma to the normal hair as a result of a stressor such as parturition, surgery, or fever that causes an abnormally large percentage of hairs to move into the catagen and telogen phases. When anagen restarts 2-4 months later, the club hairs are pushed out and lost, causing a temporary diffuse thinning of the scalp hair.

Anagen effluvium occurs after any insult to the hair follicle that impairs its mitotic or metabolic activity. The hair loss is usually the result of an exposure to chemotherapeutic agents such as antimetabolites, alkylating agents, and mitotic inhibitors that are used to treat cancer. The inhibition or arrest of cell division in the hair matrix can lead to a narrow, weakened segment of the hair shaft that is susceptible to fracture with minimal trauma. It can also result in complete failure of hair formation. The hair bulb itself may be damaged, and the hairs may separate at the bulb and fall out. Only actively growing anagen follicles are subject to these processes. This form of alopecia is more common and severe with combination chemotherapy than with the use of a single drug, and the severity is generally dose dependent. Anagen effluvium also occurs in persons with alopecia areata as the result of the inflammatory insult to the matrix.

The characteristic finding in anagen effluvium is the tapered fracture of the hair shafts. The hair shaft narrows as a result of damage to the matrix. Eventually, the shaft fractures at the site of narrowing........

[Emphasis added by Joanne C. Mueller 3-7-07.....see additional notes below re B's pet hamster hair loss and recovery 12/06 thru 2/07......]

http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic894.htm

 

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