Prof. Amir Horev

More than half of the cases first appear in childhood. Sometimes it involves members of the same family, but most often it appears without a family connection. Those affected by the disease will usually complain of one area and sometimes several areas on the scalp where hair loss and rapid baldness appear (sometimes within a few days). Usually, no inflammation or scaling is observed in the involved areas. Although the scalp is the most common area for baldness, sometimes the eyebrows, eyelashes, and even body hair are also involved.

Alopecia areata is considered an autoimmune phenomenon because the body's immune cells (T-lymphocyte cells) act against the hair follicles and cause hair loss due to the inflammation that occurs in the area. The causes of the disease are unknown, but hypotheses linking stress/mental stress as a cause have been raised in the medical literature. Sometimes patients who suffer from alopecia areata will suffer from other autoimmune symptoms/diseases, such as thyroid diseases, and therefore it is recommended to perform a blood test to rule out additional autoimmune diseases.