Does diabetes cause hair loss?

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Does diabetes cause hair loss?
Yes! Diabetes can cause hair loss.

There are two types of diabetes and one of the common symptom for both the types is hair loss. Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not properly control the levels of sugar in the blood. Diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or does not use it properly. Insulin is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells in the pancreas.

Type I diabetes

Type I diabetes is insulin dependent and is usually caused by an autoimmune destruction and loss of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. Alopecia areata, a disease of hair loss, is again an autoimmune disorder in which the functional hair follicles are targeted by the autoimmune response. The loss is only of functional follicles and the follicle stem cells are not affected. The autoimmune responses though appear to be an specific action on target cells, diffused autoimmune activity on other cell types cannot be ruled out.

Type II diabetes

Type II diabetes is non insulin-dependent disease. It is caused by several physiological factors.

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In Type II diabetes there is loss in sensitivity as well as development of resistance to insulin in the body cells. The physio-hormonal changes brought about by the level of sugar in the blood can impact the health of follicles and disrupt their genetically programmed function.

It is also pertinent to discuss here, even if briefly, the factors responsible for androgenic alopecia, the male-pattern hair loss. Though AR gene is associated with androgenic alopecia, a variety of hormonal, genetic and environmental factors are likely causes of this disorder. Several medical conditions are associated with this type of loss, including disorders of insulin resistance, such as diabetes and obesity.

The diabetes disorder causes several negative physiological conditions such as, endocrine abnormalities, inadequate blood circulation, high blood sugar levels, weakened immune system and physical and mental stress.

Endocrine abnormalities

Diabetes affected are likely to have issues with thyroid glands. Malfunctioning thyroid can lead to alopecia. The androgenic hormone dihydrotestosterone is important for regulating follicular function and growth. The androgenic alopecia is related to increased activity of androgen receptors in hair follicles. The increased blood sugar levels affects the production of dihydrotestosterone, the activity of androgen receptors proteins and the loss of function of follicles.

Inadequate blood circulation

Diabetes compromises blood circulation and reduces blood supply to skin. The tissues get starved of nutrients and oxygen. In such circumstances anagen growth phase of the follicles gets interrupted and they enter into resting telogen phase. The increase in the number of follicles in the resting phase causes excessive hair loss.

Weakened immune system

Individuals suffering from diabetes have compromised immune system and poor circulation is one of the causes. Further patients with diabetes are prone to bacterial and fungal infections. These infections can inhibit normal follicular processes leading to excessive hair loss.

Physical and mental stress

Diabetics may experience stress and anxiety while making the disorder a part of their life. Diabetes is a lifestyle changing disease. Its treatment requires many restrictions in the type and quantity of food consumed. Further, continuous medication and rigid daily routine can be very stressful for the mind and body. Mental and physical stress is known to cause hair loss.

Diabetics must closely monitor their health to keep the sugar levels under control. Taking prescribed medications followed by diet control and sufficient exercise can stall many health complications, including alopecia. Certain diabetes medications are known to cause hair loss in some people.

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Reference: 1.Diabetes Research in Children Network (DirecNet) Study Group, Buckingham B, Beck RW, Tamborlane WV, et al. Continuous glucose monitoring in children with type 1 diabetes. J Pediatr. 2007;151(4):388-93, 393.e1-2. 2.Lee HJ, Chapa D, Kao CW, Jones D, Kapustin J, Smith J, Krichten C, Donner T, Thomas SA, Friedmann E. Depression, quality of life, and glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes. J Am Acad Nurse Pract. 2009;21(4):214-24.

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Current topic in natural skin care: Hair loss can be caused by diabetes.

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What is poliosis - Poliosis treatment

Home › Hypopigmentation on face › Poliosis causes, symptoms and treatment
What is poliosis?
Poliosis is a condition wherein a patch of hair is depigmented.

Poliosis may affect hair on the head, eyebrows, or eyelashes. Poliosis occurs as patches and there is substantial decrease or absence of melanin and melanocytes in the hair bulbs of the affected hair follicles. The skin beneath the poliosis patch may or may not be hypopigmented. In middle-aged persons poliosis is sometimes mistaken to aging related graying of hair. Poliosis may affect both the genders at any age. It may be congenital and be present at birth. In many cases poliosis is an acquired condition which manifest itself in the later stages of life. Diseases of the thyroid glands, some forms of malignancy, chemotherapy, irradiation, use of prostaglandin F2α analogs, cyclosporine and chloroquine have been associated with poliosis.

Melanoblasts, melanocytes and follicular melanogenesis

To understand poliosis we must know the process of pigmentation of hair. Melanin pigments, eumelanin and pheomelanin, give color to hair. Pheomelanin contributes orange and yellow colors and eumelanin subtypes contribute to black or brown hair color. The proportion and combination of these pigments give various hues of human hair color. Melanin pigment is synthesized by melanin producing cells known as melanocytes.

The precursor cells of melanocytes are formed from neural crest cells during embryonic development. The development of neural crest cells, their migration for the formation melanoblasts and the transformation of melanoblasts to melanocytes is brought about by cell protein signaling. Protein signalling is controlled by many genes. Any mutation or deletion in the concerned genes and any disturbances in these processes can manifest as congenetic or genetic poliosis disorders.

Follicular melanocytes synthesize the skin pigment. The melanin granules are transferred into cortical and medulla keratinocyte cells. Finally pigmented hair shafts are formed. Any local disturbance to these processes, either physically or chemically can cause loss of hair and/or poliosis. In autoimmune conditions the follicular melanocytes may be targeted by antibodies and neutralized.

Congenital poliosis

Poliosis may be congenital and associated with several genetic disorders and conditions such as Waardenburg syndrome, piebaldism, tuberous sclerosis and giant congenital nevus.

Waardenburg syndrome is a group of genetic disorders characterized by hearing loss and hypopigmentation of skin and hair.

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Waardenburg syndrome is caused by mutations in the EDN3, EDNRB, MITF, PAX3, SNAI2, and SOX10 genes leading to anomalies in the normal development of melanocytes. Piebaldism and poliosis are often associated with the disorder.

Piebaldism is an autosomal dominant congenital disorder characterized by white forelock and patches of depigmented skin. White patches of hair on the head, eyebrows and eyelashes may be found in persons affected by piebaldism. Mutations in the KIT gene or SNAI2 are causes of this genetic disorder.

Tuberous sclerosis is a rare genetic disease causing benign tumors to grow in many parts of the body including the skin. It is caused by the mutations in TSC1 and TSC2 genes. Patients affected by tuberous sclerosis may develop skin manifestations like white depigmented patches of hair on the head and body.

Giant congenital nevus is sometimes associated with poliosis. G.Yosipovitch et al have reported the occurrence of this disorder in associated with a giant congenital nevus. WJ.Lee et al have described white patch of hair in association with a giant congenital melanocytic nevus on the scalp.

Acquired poliosis

Acquired poliosis is reported in conjunction with many benign conditions.

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Intradermal nevus and halo nevus have been associated with localized loss of pigment in the body hair. Kyu Mee Kay et al reported a case with the presence of white patches of hair without skin depigmentation associated with halo nevus. Whitening of eyelashes has been reported with eye conditions like blepharitis and sympathetic ophthalmia.

Poliosis may be associated with diseases and disorders like sarcoidosis, GAPO syndrome, idiopathic uveitis, Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada syndrome, vitiligo, Marfan's syndrome, alopecia areata and herpes zoster. In Ho Kwon et al reported a case of poliosis circumscripta associated with neurofibroma.

Marfan syndrome is an inherited autosomal dominant multisystem disorder of the connective tissue. In Marfan syndrome normal body growth is affected with characteristic overgrowth of long bones, abnormalities in skeletal bones, skin and internal organs. Skin manifestations are usually limited to striae distensae. KL. Herman et al had reported a Marfan syndrome case with acquired poliosis and white forelock.

Poliosis and autoimmune diseases

In autoimmune diseases, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the body cells. In certain disorders melanocytes may be destroyed by the immune system.

Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada syndrome is an autoimmune disease characterized by progressive uveitis with dermatologic, neurologic and auditory involvement. Poliosis of the eyelashes and eyebrows is often accompanied.

vitiligo and poliosis

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease wherein the body's immune system attacks and destroys the melanocytes.

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The hair in the white patches of skin also turns white due to destruction of follicular melanocytes.

Alopecia areata is considered to be an autoimmune disorder wherein the hair follicles are destroyed causing hairless patches. White hair patches is also associated with alopecia areata.

Sarcoidosis is inflammatory disease with abnormal collection of granulomas. It can affect multiple organs. Manifestations of sarcoidosis in the eye include uveitis and retinal inflammation. K S Lett et al reported a case of eyelash poliosis in association with sarcoidosis of anterior uvea. The researchers postulated that the depigmentation is the result of an autoimmune mechanism.

Association with malignancy and melanoma

Alejandra G. de Alba Campomanes et al reported a case of conjunctival melanoma with eyelid poliosis. Dunn CL et al reported a case of melanoma of the scalp with white hair manifestations. Adel H. Alsuhaibani et al reported a case of primary orbital melanoma With white hair manifestations.

Treatment for poliosis

For treating this disorder, the causative factor has to diagnosed. Treating the cause may resolve the condition in some cases. However, if the causative factors are congenital the treatment becomes impossible. Cosmetic camouflage can help in some poliosis cases.

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Reference: 1.Sleiman R, Kurban M, Succaria F, Abbas O. Poliosis circumscripta: overview and underlying causes. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2013 Oct;69(4):625-33.

Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vitiligo_and_Poliosis.jpg
Image author: Klaus D. Peter, Gummersbach, Germany | License: Cc-by-3.0-de
Current topic in natural skin care: What is poliosis - Poliosis treatment.

Sep 18, 2015