Anagen effluvium

Definition

Anagen effluvium occurs after any insult to the hair follicle that impairs its mitotic or metabolic activity. Patients present with diffuse hair loss after an exposure to drugs or toxic chemicals. Chemotherapeutic agents are most commonly responsible for hair loss. The most severe hair loss occurs in association with doxorubicin, the nitrosoureas, and cyclophosphamide. Hair loss usually begins 7-14 days after a single pulse of chemotherapy. The hair loss is clinically most apparent after 1-2 months.

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