Website maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, October 12, and Sunday, October 13. Short disruptions may occur during these days.

brand logo

Am Fam Physician. 2004;69(6):1362

to the editor: I enjoyed the article on hair loss disorders in the July 1, 2003 issue of American Family Physician.1 However, I was surprised that the authors’ discussion of androgenetic alopecia (male-pattern baldness) excluded an important alternative to surgery and pharmacologic therapy: no medical treatment.2 Certainly, the safest and least invasive way to address the psychosocial impact of hair loss is through psychosocial counseling. An earnest conversation about body image and reassurance that hair loss is a normal part of life might help some patients avoid the costs and risks of pharmacologic therapy or surgical intervention, and those associated with the quack remedies hawked for this medically benign condition.

Email letter submissions to afplet@aafp.org. Letters should be fewer than 400 words and limited to six references, one table or figure, and three authors. Letters submitted for publication in AFP must not be submitted to any other publication. Letters may be edited to meet style and space requirements.

This series is coordinated by Kenny Lin, MD, MPH, deputy editor.

Continue Reading


More in AFP

More in PubMed

Copyright © 2004 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP.  See permissions for copyright questions and/or permission requests.