Overview

Please see conventional, complimentary and alternative medical treatments for important background information regarding the different types of medical treatments discussed on this page. Naturopathic, Complimentary and Alternative treatments that may be considered include:

Etiology

Several common causes of alopecia (hair loss) have been identified:
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    Hypothyroidism . One of the hallmark signs of hypothyroidism is
    • loss of the lateral portion of the eyebrow ("Queen Anne's Sign" or "The Sign of Hertoghe" [Hertoghe1915], [Starr2005, pg 112], [Pizzorno2012, pg 1406 ff].
  • Excessive dihydroxytestosterone (DHT) [Pizzorno2012, pg 1406 ff].
  • Many different drugs [Pizzorno2012, pg 1406 ff].
  • Nutritional deficiencies (especially consider Fe, Zn, Vitamin A, and EFA) [Pizzorno2012, pg 1406 ff].
  • Deficiencies in digestion or absorption of nutrients (especially hypochlorhydria) [Pizzorno2012, pg 1406 ff], [Marz1999, pg 521].
  • Anti-gliadin antibodies (even in the absence of Celiac Disease) [Pizzorno2012, pg 1406 ff].
  • Blood glucose dysregulation or insulin resistance [Pizzorno2012, pg 1406 ff].

Less common causes of hair loss include:

Diagnosis

  • Initial workup: CBC, CMP, Serum Ferritin, TSH, Free-T3.
  • Consider adding to initial workup: HbA1C, homocysteine, methylmalonic acid
  • Consider: Glucose-insulin tolerance test (if blood sugar dysregulation or insulin resistance is suspected).
  • Consider: human anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (IgA anti-tTG). This is more sensitive than testing for anti-gliadin antibodies [Pizzorno2012, pg 1406 ff].
  • Consider: EFA panel.
  • Consider: Hormone panel.
  • Consider: Lupus panel (if scarring is present).
  • Consider: Referral to dermatologist (if the hair-loss is focal).
  • Consider: Functional nutrient testing (e.g. SpectraCell).

Differential Diagnosis

Treatment

Naturopathic, Complimentary and Alternative Treatments

Begin with a therapeutic trial of supplementing common nutrient deficiencies as well as specific deficiencies identified by the initial workup. If that fails, then select additional testing based on level of suspicion and address any abnormalities identified.

Immune System Balancing

[McCulley2018, pg 62] reports that alopecia may be an autoimmune disorder, and proposes an approach to treating this disease, which should be supervised by a properly trained medical professional. Dr. Weyrich has considerable interest in this topic, but has not treated any cases of alopecia with Immune System Balancing.

Please see What is Immune System Balancing? for more information.

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)

[LdnResearchTrust_conditions] reports that alopecia areata is a condition that LDN could help. Dr. Weyrich has been trained in the use of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). However, Dr. Weyrich has not treated any cases of alopecia with LDN.

Please see What is Low Dose Naltrexone? for more information.

References