Does MPB work like this?

[mahhong]

Hey Everyone,

 

I have a question that I wanted to ask more knowledgeable people on these forums about. I'm 28 and my hair is now pretty noticeably thinning (it has been slowly going since around 25/26 but it only really became noticeable the last 12 months, though there is still a fair bit left). It's thinning pretty much all over the top, most noticeably at the sides of the hairline and the crown, but in other places too. I still look and feel like I have very strong back and side hair and I would estimate my hair to be about a NWIII vertex overall at the moment - though obviously I know it's too early to make any definite assumptions. There is still a fair bit of hair on top of my head but it's now clearly thinner at the crown and hairline and a bit more see through across the vertex and mid-scalp sort of areas.

 

My question is about genetic hairloss and patterns. My father is an NWV and his father an NWIII vertex I would say. On my mother's side her father was somewhere in appearance between an NWVI and VII and had been ever since I'd been born.

 

I know there's no medically accurate way to determine exactly how your hair will end up but I was trying to find patterns in the way the men in my family lost their hair and the way I am losing it. I was, of course, worried about ending up like my maternal grandfather and losing a huge amount of hair. Recently, however, I saw a photo of him when he was about 23/24 and noticed he already had major loss at the sides of the hairline and temples (the photos were old and only from front on, so I couldn't make any guesses about the crown or vertex, though the density of his scalp hair did appear thinner than the sides of his head from that angle).

 

I found this photo interesting (and initially encouraging) since at 23/24 I had no noticeable hairloss and, even now at 28, I would hazard an educated guess I have much less hairloss than he did at 24, judging from the few photos I have. My question was; does that possibly mean an indicator that I am more likely to be heading in my father or paternal grandfather's footsteps with hairloss than my maternal grandfather? I have very different hair than my dad in terms of texture and characteristics, but the pattern of my hairloss is much more in line with his I would guess.

 

I don't know enough about genetics/MPB to know whether the balding pattern is intrinsically linked to the way in which that pattern develops? For example, is it possible to bald differently to my maternal grandfather but still end up in the same place as him in terms of eventual hairloss? Or does the very different and later onset of my hairloss suggest I'm less likely to end up like he did?

 

Any light anybody can shed on this would be very interesting! Thanks in advance for your time.

[Thehairupthere]

It's difficult to say because sometimes these things skip generations. You may also look more like your father rather than grandfather or vice versa, the best way to determine what to expect is to see a recommended doctor and they can tell you where they are noticing miniaturization and an estimate of what you can expect in the future. If you're noticing a lot of thinning I would suggest seeing a doctor and trying some medication like propecia or rogaine foam to stop any further loss and possibly regrowing some dormant hair.

[mattj]

These matters of genetics are so unpredictable that I honestly think they'll find a cure before they manage to devise a way of telling you exactly how far your hairloss will progress and the speed of that progression.

 

Why don't you ask your father when his hairloss began and how his hair compared to yours when he was your age? And the same with his father (I got the impression he is still with us). Or have you asked and they couldn't remember?

 

My hunch (and it is only a hunch) is that you will probably not see your hairloss advance quite as far as your maternal grandfather's.

[mahhong]

My father's loss started probably a bit younger than me. Either that OR he had thinner hair than I do and it was more noticeable. I would say it was similar in the pattern of loss to mine, except his crown and hairline loss was a bit more pronounced but my hairloss is probably a little bit more diffusely spread across my vertex and mid-scalp than his was (though essentially my hunch is I'm going bald in very similar fashion to how he did).

 

My paternal grandfather I'm not entirely sure, though it was around mid-to-late twenties as well. An important point about his hairloss though is that I believe he is (or at least was) on oral minoxidil for a heart problem. Not sure if this made a major difference to the state of his hair, but he has more hair generally than my father (certainly more at the hairline and a bit less crown loss).

 

Regarding the drugs I've given propecia two trials (one 3 1/2 months, one around 6 weeks) and unfortunately experienced side effects on it both time. I'd say they were moderate side effects (watery semen, testicular pain, some ED and libido issues) but they didn't seem to diminish and they were persistent whilst taking the drug (cleared up both times relatively quickly after stopping the drug). I couldn't truly be sure whether these were psychosomatic or not, but they didn't feel like it and ultimately I just think I didn't tolerate the drug all that well. Minoxidil I have never tried but am going to look into.

 

Regarding what thehairupthere said about skipping generations, unfortunately I don't know much about my great grandparents. I know my maternal grandfather's father had hairloss very similar to my grandfather, but my paternal grandfather's father I never knew (think they had a bust-up years before I was born and as a result never met him or even saw him!). All my father knew was that he did have hairloss, but similar to my grandfather and father (impossible to say exactly but somewhere around NWIV/V or that sort of degree).

 

I'd love to have a miniaturization test done but I live in the UK and not sure if anybody over here even does it (I'll have to check up on Farjo, as he seems the most likely candidate in this country).

 

I agree genetics is a tricky one! I didn't imagine there'd be much in the way of conclusive understanding, but I did wonder whether the relative slowness and lateness of my balding pattern compared to my maternal grandfather meant there was at least a higher chance I'd take more after my father and his side of the family. I guess ultimately nobody can truly call it one way or another, but I can live in a bit of hope because that side of the family, whilst they still have hairloss, at least do look to have the sort of hair and quantity of hair that would make considering the HT route sometime in the future!

[mattj]

 

I agree genetics is a tricky one! I didn't imagine there'd be much in the way of conclusive understanding, but I did wonder whether the relative slowness and lateness of my balding pattern compared to my maternal grandfather meant there was at least a higher chance I'd take more after my father and his side of the family.

 

I do think this might indicate a higher chance of your hairloss 'keeping pace' more with your father's, but it is uncertain.

[ziggy00]

I agree with what you suggest, that your hair loss will be closer to your father's. But I'm not a geneticist, and I don't think anyone else here is. I mean, one important part of genetics is variation...so who knows? If the hair loss is bothering you, though, it can't hurt to set up a consultation somewhere and see what they recommend.

[mahhong]

I agree with what you suggest, that your hair loss will be closer to your father's. But I'm not a geneticist, and I don't think anyone else here is. I mean, one important part of genetics is variation...so who knows? If the hair loss is bothering you, though, it can't hurt to set up a consultation somewhere and see what they recommend.

 

I'll be getting a transplant (hopefully) one day in the not too distant future! I've been planning on that for a while, but I'm still away from making serious arrangements yet. I hope to discuss my hairloss with a doctor soon though!

 

I imagined the question was probably too complex to be answered on the forum (if it can be answered at all), I was just curious whether you could inherit genes from someone but express them differently at different times.