Question of the Month
Q:
I was wondering about the concept of Vestigial
Organs. Like the appendix and the tail bone, will hair start disappearing in the
human species because there seems to be no physiological use for it? Should we
have to stop the process of evolution to cure hair loss? Almost all my friends
inevitably say that their parents had more hair than them. My mother at 56, has
more hair than me at 28 and we do not have any history of balding in the family.
The problem of hair loss seems to be more and more prevalent.
A:
You raise a very interesting question of why we
humans still have hair and whether hair loss is getting more common. The human
species has always had hair and I don't think it will disappear because of
evolution. Natural selection does not fully account for all human attributes, in
my opinion. Why do we have language ability? or why do we have hands which can
type on a computer keyboard as I am doing now? It is not that I don't accept
evolution but scientists should admit that we have only limited understanding of
why we are the way we are.
I don't think alopecia is more common. Rather, women are more comfortable
expressing concern about quality of life issues. Also the media and especially
the internet helps people realize that they are not the only ones with a
problem.
Alopecia is part hereditary but the genetics are complex; often only some in a
family are affected.
In any case, female hair loss is treatable despite genetic factors.
I think that in a thousand years humans will still have hair, though hair styles
will probably have changed.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey Redmond, MD
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