Crohn's Ileocolitis Presenting as Chronic Diffuse Hair Loss

    May 1989 in “ Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine ”
    Ami Schattner, Y Shanon
    Image of study
    TLDR Crohn's disease can cause hair loss before other symptoms appear.
    In 1989, a study described a 21-year-old female with Crohn's ileocolitis who presented with chronic diffuse hair loss as the initial symptom, six years before the gastrointestinal symptoms of Crohn's disease appeared. Despite extensive dermatological evaluations, no skin-related cause for the hair loss was identified. The patient, who also had anemia for four years, was eventually diagnosed with Crohn's disease through diagnostic imaging and biopsy. Treatment with sulphasalazine and ferrous sulphate improved her symptoms, including hair loss, and after 20 months, she experienced no further hair loss. The study highlighted that Crohn's disease can manifest with extra-intestinal symptoms like hair loss, potentially due to nutritional deficiencies or autoimmune processes, and these symptoms can precede the more common gastrointestinal symptoms.
    Discuss this study in the Community →

    Research cited in this study

    1 / 1 results

    Related Community Posts Join

    6 / 313 results
      If You Have DUPA, PLEASE READ THIS: Everyone Should Be Scalp Biopsied

      community If You Have DUPA, PLEASE READ THIS: Everyone Should Be Scalp Biopsied

      in Research  830 upvotes 1 year ago
      Scalp biopsies are crucial for diagnosing hair loss conditions like Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) and retrograde hair loss, as treatments like finasteride and dutasteride may not be effective if other conditions are present. Combining PPAR-GAMMA agonists with retinoids could improve treatments for conditions like Lichen Planopilaris.

      community Seeking Advice: Unusual Hair Loss at 31 Years Old - Any Insights? (M)

      in Chat  15 upvotes 1 year ago
      A 31-year-old man who previously had good results with minoxidil, finasteride, and nizoral for hair loss is now experiencing unusual hair loss and side effects from finasteride. Respondents suggest it might be severe retrograde alopecia and recommend exploring other treatment options due to his inability to tolerate finasteride.

      community 1 year of Oral Fin and Oral Min

      in Progress Pictures  129 upvotes 2 weeks ago
      The user has been using 1 mg oral finasteride, 2.5 mg oral minoxidil, keto shampoo, topical minoxidil, and supplements for hair loss but hasn't seen expected progress. Suggestions include trying dutasteride, increasing oral minoxidil dosage, microneedling, and checking for other conditions or deficiencies.

    Similar Research

    5 / 1000+ results