An epidemiological study of androgenic alopecia in 3114 Korean patients.

BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of hair loss, and is characterized by the transformation of terminal scalp hair into vellus hair. The epidemiology of AGA is not fully understood. A strong genetic basis has long been identified, although little is known of its nongenetic causes. AIM: To evaluate the association of AGA with a number of environmental factors, including smoking, drinking and sleeping habit. METHODS: In total, 3114 Korean individuals with AGA who attended any one of 17 dermatology clinics in 6 cities in South Korea between March 2011 and February 2012 were enrolled in the study. Epidemiologic a data were collected using a standard questionnaire. RESULTS: No association was seen between eating or sleeping habits and severity of hair loss. However, drinking and smoking were associated with the severity of AGA in male patients. We also found that patients of both genders with a family history had more advanced types of hair loss, and the age of onset of AGA in male patients with a family history was earlier than that in male patients without a family history. CONCLUSIONS: Although the evidence for an environmental influence on AGA remains very weak, we did find an association between hair loss severity and certain environmental factors, such as smoking and drinking. Family history with more severe hair loss and an earlier age of onset.

Effects of extracellular calcium concentrations and calcium antagonists on vitellogenin induction by estradiol-17 beta in primary hepatocyte culture in the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss.

The involvement of calcium in vitellogenin (Vg) synthesis in response to estradiol-17 beta (E2, 2 x 10(-6) M) was electrophoretically examined in primary hepatocyte culture in the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. The relative rate of Vg synthesis was evaluated by measuring the integrated optical density of the Vg band after SDS-PAGE and expressed as a percentage of Vg to total proteins. The induction of Vg by E2 did not occur at 0 meq Ca/liter, while some proteins other than Vg (main subunit) were weakly synthesized. Vg synthesis increased in a calcium concentration-dependent way and reached the maximum at 5 meq Ca/liter in the incubation medium. The addition of bovine growth hormone (50 ng/ml) and/or ovine prolactin (100 ng/ml) had no effect on stimulating Vg synthesis by E2, regardless of the calcium concentrations in the medium. Lanthanum and verapamil (10(-4) M) markedly inhibited Vg synthesis, while diltiazem (10(-4) M) was insignificant. Reactive blue (10(-4) was also effective in inhibiting Vg synthesis to about 60% of the control. These results suggest that the synthesis of Vg, a calcium-binding protein, is more susceptible to calcium than are other proteins. Receptor-operated and verapamil-sensitive calcium channels have been proposed to be involved in calcium entry into hepatocytes in rainbow trout.