- With Mayo Clinic rheumatologist
April Chang-Miller, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
April Chang-Miller, M.D.
April Chang-Miller, M.D.
Dr. April Chang-Miller is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology and is a consultant in the Division of Rheumatology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
Dr. Chang-Miller's primary field is rheumatology with special interests in inflammatory joint diseases called seronegative spondyloarthropathies, such as ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. She also cares for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.
The New York City native is a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Chang-Miller joined the Mayo Clinic staff in Rochester, Minn., in 1991, and in 2002 she relocated to Mayo Clinic in Arizona. She is a fellow in the American College of Rheumatology and has been on the board of directors of the Arthritis Foundation North Central Chapter.
Symptoms (3)
- Lupus: Can it cause hives?
- Livedo reticularis: When is it a concern?
- Lupus: Can it cause hair loss?
Complications (1)
- Lupus: How does it affect the kidneys?
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Question
Lupus: Can it cause hair loss?
Can lupus cause hair loss?
Answer
from April Chang-Miller, M.D.
Unfortunately, yes. A majority of people with lupus experience some hair loss (alopecia, pronounced al-o-PE-she-uh), whether they have a form of lupus that affects several organs or a form that mainly affects the skin. Most of the time, though, lupus is unlikely to cause complete or permanent hair loss.
Hair loss may be an early sign of lupus, before the disease is diagnosed. Lupus causes widespread inflammation, almost always involving your skin — particularly, on your face and scalp. Because of this inflammation and other factors, the hair on your scalp may gradually thin out, although a few people lose clumps of hair instead. Loss of eyebrow, eyelash, beard and body hair is also possible.
Although lupus-related hair loss can be alarming, your hair is likely to grow back when your lupus is treated. The signs and symptoms of lupus often go into remission for long periods, but the disease tends to flare back up unpredictably. You may experience hair loss again if you have a lupus flare.
Some people with lupus develop a rash with round lesions (discoid rash) on the scalp. Because discoid lesions scar your hair follicles, they do cause permanent hair loss.
If your hair is falling out, consult your doctor to find out why. Unless you're already being treated for lupus or you have other signs and symptoms the disease, your hair loss probably has a different cause. Among the possibilities are medications, hormonal changes, thyroid disorders, nutritional deficiencies, stress and recent fever.
Next questionLupus: How does it affect the kidneys?
- Schur PH, et al. Mucocutaneous manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus. http://www.uptodate.com. Accessed May 19, 2010.
- Skin changes in people with systemic lupus. Lupus Foundation of America. http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_empty.aspx?articleid=453&zoneid=76 . Accessed May 19, 2010.
- Hordinsky M. Cicatricial alopecia: discoid lupus erythematosus. Dermatologic Therapy. 2008;21:245-248.
- Habif TP. Hair diseases. In: Habif TP, ed. Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.:Elsevier Mosby. 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..X0001-6--TOP&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9&uniq=202049453#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..00033-X--s0325%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-0-7234-3541-9. Accessed May 19, 2010.
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