Apes suffer with alopecia too!

    Humans are not the only primates in which baldness happens naturally at sexual maturity. Many orangutans and chimpanzees of both sexes show some signs of baldness when they reach maturity.

Treatment for baldness
No  one  has  yet  achieved  that  longed-for prize so desperately sought, a certain cure for baldness.
    A drug called Minoxadil is now available over the counter, or on private prescription, in the UK and in many other countries. The drug is applied to the scalp twice a day, but no guarantee of its effectiveness is offered. According to various experts it may at best stop the hair loss in about 80% of users; 30% will see some downy growth after three or four months or use, and a lucky 30% will see some visible re-growth of hair. It must be remembered that it has to be used continuously, for the rest of the user's life.

    In the view of experts, most other so-called treatments are a waste of time and money. A great deal of research into the subject is going on, and other treatments may become available in the near future.

Diffuse hair loss

The second most common cause of hair loss is the general, or so-called diffuse, hair loss. In this condition the hair is shed from all parts of the scalp. A great deal of hair has to be lost before the effects become visible, however. The hair may fall during either the growing (anagen) or the resting (telogen) phase.
    A sudden diffuse loss of hair may be both dramatic and distressing. One well-known cause of the loss of large amounts of hair is the drugs that are taken during cancer treatment, and in this case the hair is lost while it is in the growing phase. Fortunately the hair re-grows when the treatment is stopped.
    Often women have some diffuse hair loss after the birth of a baby. During a pregnancy hair tends to grow well and to look healthy, under the influence of high levels of female hormones. It may in fact stay in the anagen phase throughout the pregnancy. When the baby is