Hypertrichosis:
Introduction
Hypertrichosis is a excessive hair growth disorder distinguished by only abonormal hair length and hair density compared to the patient’s respective race, sex, or age group. Hypertrichosis can be a result of endocrine dysfunction, much like in hirsutism which accompanies excessive adrenocortical function. It is caused by genetic or acquired factors and is an androgen independent process, whereas hirsutism is an androgen dependent process that occurs in women and children only. Hypertrichosis can be classified as generalized Hypertrichosis and localized Hypertrichosis. Generalized Hypertrichosis involves the three hair types: lanugo, vellus, and terminal hairs.
Types of Hypertrichosis
· Generalized:
o Congenital: The whole body, except for areas that do not normally have hair, is covered with a large amount of lanugo hair. The hair on the scalp, eyelashes, and eyebrows are all darker, and there is a lot of hair growth on the face, ears and shoulders.
§ Congenital Hypertrichosis lanuginose is when a baby is born with an excessive amount of hair covering the whole body. Within the first year, the hair is usually lost.
§ Bachmann de Lange is when infants have an especially low hairline, prominent eyebrows, long eyelashes, and thin lips. These infants are also affected with other things such as mental and growth retardation.
§ Prepubertal Hypertrichosis is when hair growth increases from birth and moves to the forehead and the eyebrows. Hair is especially prominent on the upper back proximal limbs.
o Acquired: This is the more common form of hypertrichosis, and the hair is more often vellus hair rather than lanugo. The most common areas affected are the parts of the face.
§ Cancer can cause hypertrichosis but patients often go back to normal hair growth with surgery.
§ Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia cause hypertrichosis.
§ Drugs can also cause hypertrichosis, but the stopping of the drugs can result in less hair growth.
· Localized:
o Congenital: Hair on the back, specifically on the spine poses the most problems for it can cause neural and spinal defects. This causes problems later in life and occurs most frequently in females.
§ Hair on the ears of babies means the baby has XXY syndrome.
§ Excessive growth on the eyebrows and eyelashes occurs only in adults.
§ Congenital pigmented hairy nevus is the most common form of localized hypertrichosis in infants and can be treated with surgery.
o Acquired: Injuries such as trauma or irritation and inflammation of the skin can lead to terminal hairs causing hypertrichosis.
§ Becker’s nevus is caused by sunburn and affects the upper back
Hypertrichosis- Causes 2
Hypertrichosis Diagnosis 2
Hypertrichosis-Treatments-2
Hypertrichosis- Stories-2
Comments (21)
rryoung@... said
at 8:33 am on Oct 29, 2009
You've got a lot of information...where did it come from? Remember to cite your information. The pictures that you used made the page more interesting -- good job.
rryoung@... said
at 8:34 am on Oct 29, 2009
Please link to your other pages so that we can see them.
Chelsea Johnson said
at 9:10 am on Nov 4, 2009
I was surprised by how much information you had on your pages (in a good way). You did a very good job of including links to pages that explained terms that most people would be unfamiliar with.
Emely Richardson said
at 9:14 am on Nov 4, 2009
I liked how you had the links to all of the pages at the bottom of each page, making it easy to navigate through your website. You had a lot of good information and I think that the "stories" added a nice touch.
Alex Gregory said
at 10:28 am on Nov 4, 2009
I like how the links at the bottom of each page go to all of the pages. They made it very easy to find information.
Emily Mason said
at 4:42 pm on Nov 4, 2009
Very thourough and choc-full of information. I'm impressed.
Hannah Jenkins said
at 7:01 pm on Nov 4, 2009
The information is very in-depth and interesting. Nice pictures, but a little more color or different fonts would make it a little more appealing to the eye.
Aaron Nehamkin said
at 9:40 pm on Nov 4, 2009
I really like the stories page; it was very interesting. Good job!
Michael Burns said
at 8:54 am on Nov 5, 2009
THere is a lot of information here. I think it is pretty good, including explnations and links.
Audra Cokain said
at 9:01 am on Nov 5, 2009
I like how there are a lot of different links inside the causes page. Lots of good information and the stories page was a really good idea.
Leigh Anderson said
at 9:06 am on Nov 5, 2009
This is a really interesting disease. The outline on your home page is very well organized, and I learned a lot about the differences between Hypertrichosis.
Emily Mason said
at 9:36 am on Nov 5, 2009
The picture of the hypertrichosis family on this page really brings home the shocking idea of having uncontrollable hair growth all over your body (generalized hypertrichosis, as your wiki has informed me).
Michael Burns said
at 9:39 am on Nov 5, 2009
We can fix so many things with lasers. Eyesight, possibly tumors, uncontrollable hair problems... I'd go for that rather than shaving everyday. As if cancer wasn't enough, you can also have the wrong type of hair growth after chemo. The first picture really demonstrates the extreme of this disease.
Jamie Milligan said
at 9:40 am on Nov 5, 2009
Very interesting disease, I learned a lot from it, like the term Lanugo referring to hair that grows on a fetus, also the story about Danny Gomez was a nice touch.
Emely Richardson said
at 9:42 am on Nov 5, 2009
I liked how you had the links to all of the pages at the bottom of each page, making it easy to navigate through your website. You had a lot of good information and I think that the "stories" added a nice touch. The wolf man picture shows the extreme of this disease, and it's kind of gross. I didn't even know of this disease and I think that it is crazy that there are so many different types of the disorder.
Bradley Vivace said
at 9:43 am on Nov 5, 2009
The story of Danny Ramoz Gomez really provided depth to this disease. Its one thing to know about the disease, but another to live it. His picture really makes you think what he has been through.
Kyle Gooding said
at 9:47 am on Nov 5, 2009
I was sure about this disease being a genetic disorder but I had no idea that it could be from mutations caused by medications and other diseases
Leigh Anderson said
at 9:49 am on Nov 5, 2009
This is a really interesting disease. The outline on your home page is very well organized, and I learned a lot about the differences between Hypertrichosis. I knew abnormal hair growth occured due to easting disorders, drugs, and cancer, but I didn't know it was connected to this disease. It was interesting that you have differentiated between congenital hair growth and acquired hair growth, as well as localized and generalized hair growth. I never thought of something like this as being classified as such.
Alex Burgan said
at 9:50 am on Nov 5, 2009
I really liked Danny Gomez's story. I thought it was especially interesting that the geneticist believes that his family has a "turned on" gene that has been turned off.
Chelsea Johnson said
at 9:54 am on Nov 5, 2009
I found it interestng that this disease has so many subcategories. It was weird that there is no lab test for this defect, as most genetic disorders can be deterined through lab tests, but I suppose that the symptoms for this disease make it obvious enough! It was also interesting to me that people with this defect treat it as most people treat any unwanted body hair. I would have figured there is some pill or drug that would stop the hair growth, but it seems this is not the case.
Hannah Jenkins said
at 9:54 am on Nov 5, 2009
I thought it was interesting that "normal" things such as eating disorders and drug use can cause this disease, not only the genetics.
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