What is Alopecia Areata?
Alopecia areata (or in Hebrew, regional baldness) is an autoimmune disease. This means that the immune system mistakenly attacks the body. In the case of alopecia, for unknown reasons, inflammation develops around the hair follicle and the immune system attacks the inflammation and the follicle, causing hair loss. Alopecia areata usually appears in scalp hair (meaning on the head) or beard, but can also attack eyebrows, eyelashes, or hair in any other part of the body.
Disease Prevalence
Alopecia areata is a relatively common disease, and about 2% of the population will suffer from it at some point in their lives. The disease usually appears for the first time before age 20 (up to 60% of cases), and only 20% of patients will experience hair loss for the first time after age 40.
Recovery Chances
In the first event of alopecia in life, about 60% of patients experience renewed hair growth within a year. In mild cases of the disease, improvement and even full recovery are possible even without treatment (spontaneously).
Severity Levels
In 8% – 15% of cases, the disease progresses to a severe degree and may become chronic. Alopecia areata is considered severe when there is baldness of at least half of the scalp hair. When baldness covers all scalp hair, the condition is called "alopecia totalis". An even more severe condition of the disease causes hair loss all over the body, a condition called "alopecia universalis".