Hair loss, a side effect of COVID-19
Dear readers of Salengei’s blog, today we will discuss a topic that has been observed in certain patients who suffered from COVID-19 and have been affected by one of the side effects that occur afterwards, which is hair loss.
Because these reports are absolutely new and there are still studies in progress, we will bring you some preliminary observations.
We encourage our readers to join us until the end of the article to learn about the solution we propose from our laboratories.
We hope it will be of great help.
Here we go!
Preliminary observations
Human hair is normally shed due to primarily climatic and hormonal influences, increasing in late summer and early fall.
Being an evolutionary vestige, the number that is released can be calculated at approximately 100-200 per day, depending on the season of the year.
We can define alopecia as abnormal hair loss, which is the result of a pathophysiological process.
Some observations made in male patients admitted for COVID-19 showed that there would be a direct association between those who had the disease and subsequent telogen effluvium as a side effect.
Alopecia is a pathophysiological process of abnormal hair loss
Recall that telogen effluvium is characterized by diffuse hair loss in the months following a significant systemic stressor. This is due to the premature follicular transition from the anagen phase (active growth phase) to the telogen phase (resting phase).
This telogen phase lasts approximately three months and the effects of hair loss are seen after the following three months after the causative agent is suspended.
In the observed cases, post-infectious effluvium turned out to be a causal association with COVID-19.
But the data went even further, because it could be inferred that the onset and acuity of hair loss depended on the clinical severity with which the patient had suffered from the disease. doi.org/10.1111/exd.14259
How does hair grow?
Hair grows in cycles and each cycle consists of phases:
-
Anagen: it involves a long phase of growth, from two to six years.
Normally between 85-89% of the total hairs on the scalp are in this phase. -
Cathagin: it is a short phase of three weeks and is transitional apoptotic.
Only 1% of hairs are at this stage. -
Telogen: involves a brief resting phase of two to three months.
9-14% of hair follicles are in this stage.
At the end of the telogen phase, the hair falls out.
Under normal conditions, 100 to 200 scalp hairs reach the final resting phase each day and fall out.
When a new hair begins to grow in the follicle, the cycle begins again.
Between 100 and 200 hairs fall out per day
The most common cause of alopecia is androgenic and is an inherited androgen-dependent disorder .
In this process, dehydrotestosterone plays an essential role and that is why drugs such as Finasteride are used, which inhibits the enzyme 5-alpha reductase that converts testosterone to dehydrotestosterone.
Not only due to COVID infection
The relationship between a stressor and any subsequent changes in the hair growth cycle has resulted in the designation of a very specific brain-hair follicle axis.
This axis promotes the release of neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, and hormones that affect the transition of hairs from the anagen phase to the telogen phase.
As a result of this, a new subspecialty of psychodermatology has been born relatively recently, called Trichopsychodermatology, which emphasizes the psychosocial aspects of hair disorders (Jafferany & Patel, 2020).
The quarantine conditions that are currently experienced or have been experienced in different countries are difficult processes for some people and can modify and/or worsen the psychological state of individuals.
Increased psychosocial stress can affect the course of many skin conditions that are commonly sensitive to stress.
One study examined the potential effects of COVID-19 on hair and scalp diseases such as telogen effluvium, alopecia areata, and seborrheic dermatitis in individuals who had to stay at home for an extended period of time.
The results were that 28% of the participants reported cases of telogen effluvium at the end of the confinement period.
DOI: 10.1111 / dth.13923
What mechanisms would have been involved?
As is known, COVID-19 infection causes in some patients, affectations that owe their severity to the immense amount of free radicals released by the various pro-inflammatory agents that intervene in the pathogenesis of the disease.
After the initial infection, the progression of acute disease can be divided into three distinct phases: early infection phase, pulmonary phase, and hyperinflammation phase, all with significant overlaps.
Stress Can Be a Trigger for Hair Loss
The hyperinflammation stage is characterized by a cytokine storm, which leads to immune-mediated lesions in distant organs.
Studies have demonstrated significant elevation of inflammatory markers, including interleukin IL-6, IL-2, IL-7, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-inducible protein, monocyte chemoattractant protein, macrophage inflammatory protein-1α, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin, and ferritin.
The response from Salengei
Our ACTIVE CAPILAR has NaturSYNTM Oil, which is a patented formula and is composed of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, phytosterols, lignans and antioxidants, obtained from different oils and plant extracts.
These ingredients act synergistically helping in the prevention and treatment of hair loss caused by different factors.
This patented oil has been shown to have the same inhibitory activity on 5-alpha-reductase as Finasteride.
Overall, the mechanism of action of NaturSYNTM Oil improves microcirculation at the hair level, helps reduce inflammation and accumulation of sebum in the hair follicle, also helps to slow down damage caused by free radicals and regulate hormonal imbalances.
In addition to this component, we add zinc and selenium, which are trace elements highly involved in hair regeneration.
NaturSYNTM Oil has been shown to have the same inhibitory activity on 5-alpha-reductase as Finasteride
Zinc is an essential cofactor for multiple enzymes and is involved with important functions in the hair follicle.
In addition, it is a powerful inhibitor of hair follicle regression and accelerates its recovery.
Selenium is another indispensable cofactor in enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) that helps in the fight against free radicals.
It is of paramount importance when alopecia processes are related to increased oxidative stress.
And last but not least, biotin, which among its many functions, here we highlight its contribution to the production of keratin, which explains its contribution to the healthy growth of hair and nails.
Conclusion
Hair loss can respond to different causes, but in recent times it has been accentuated in patients who suffered high levels, both of psychological stress and exposure to free radicals due to COVID-19 infection.
From Salengei we propose a very complete option with proven effectiveness such as ACTIVE CAPILAR.
As always, we hope this article has been of interest to you and we look forward to your visit to our website: https://salengei.com to learn about the different alternatives we have to offer you.
See you in the next installment!