More than 400 trichologists, dermatologists and other hair loss experts gathered recently for a conference in Jerusalem, Israel. This is the largest gathering ever for this type of congress.
Thirty countries were involved in the 15th Annual Meeting of the European Hair Research Society (EHRS) to discuss all things connected with hair loss, its causes and more importantly its solutions.
Opening the conference professor Abraham Zlotogorski, director of the hair clinic at Hadassah University Medical Centre in Jerusalem said: “Trichology is a subspecialty of dermatology. But there isn’t even one country where it is officially recognized. At present, hair disorders are part of the work of dermatologists, who also treat venereal diseases.”
He went on to talk about the growing range of possible solutions for treating hair loss, which can be devastating for many people, particularly those who suffer from the various forms of alopecia. Chemotherapy often results in hair loss, but in most people hair grows back. With alopecia and other disorders hair can easily fall out for no apparent reason and not grow back again.
In some cases there is an inherited link, with many men (and some women) suffering from a receding hair line.
Interestingly, professor Zlotogorski added that medical doctors can now diagnose hair loss from a patient’s medical history, a physical examination, laboratory testing of hair strands, blood and genetic samples. Instruments such as the trichoscope are also starting to be used.
More importantly in all this, loss of hair has now become a major subject for study. For too many years it was considered a Cinderella topic, with specialists not taken seriously.
That has now changed.