Well, outer_heavon doesn't really seem to be asking any questions other than wanting to know how many other guys are experiencing hair loss. The rest is made up of his own theories.
Having said that, if outer_heavon doesn't mind, I'd like to clear up a couple points of confusion.
Quote from: outer_heavon on July 19, 2010, 06:41:36 AM
I've been doing vast research into this for awhile and i want to share some of my theories about why transsexual men seem to go bald much younger and often occurs more so in transsexual males then cisgendered males.
So is this the first theory? That trans men go bald at a younger age than non-trans men? Without a controlled study, anecdotal or personal observations are not guaranteed to provide a true picture of the population.
Quote from: outer_heavon on July 19, 2010, 06:41:36 AM
From a genetics point of view transsexual men should be less likely to go bald due to the fact we typically have two XX chromosomes and since the baldness gene is thought to be recessive and carried on the X chromosome. Our other remaining X chromosome should copy out the recessive gene and dominant it. (this is why having two XX chromosomes is a good thing with regard to undesirable recessive genes)
This means that in order for a transsexual male to go bald he would need to have the baldness gene carried twice on both his X chromosomes.
Actually, if the gene responsible were located on the X chromosome, then non-trans men would have a higher probability of having the hair loss effect. Trans men have two X chromosomes, so if the trait is recessive, as stated below, then we would need the recessive gene on BOTH of our X chromosomes to see the effect on hair loss. In non-trans men with only one X chromosome, the recessive gene would be the only one present and so could wreak havoc on the hair follicles. (Okay that's a bit dramatic, but you get the picture I hope.)
Here are a couple reviews on the subject. The androgen receptor has been considered a culprit, and the gene for it is indeed on the X-chromosome, but now there is evidence that other genes might be involved:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19396986http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20426708Quote from: outer_heavon on July 19, 2010, 06:41:36 AM
DHT is the hormone responsible for causing baldness as it converts testosterone to DHT in the hair cells. The presence of DHT in the hair cells causes the bodies immune to attack the cell killing it for those of us genetically predisposed to balding.
There is some confusion here. DHT doesn't convert T into anything. T is converted into DHT by the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. The mention of DHT causing an auto-immune attack against hair follicles is mixing up two different types of hair loss (aka alopecia). Androgenetic alopecia is the term for male-pattern baldness due to the action of DHT on the hair follicles. Alopecia areata is hair loss that is believed to be caused by an auto-immune condition:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1069931-overviewQuote from: outer_heavon on July 19, 2010, 06:41:36 AM
There is more at play here then just chromosomes and genetics. I believe the reason transsexual males go bald is because of our high DHT levels. You see even for those cisgendered men who are not genetically predisposed to going bald will go bald regardless if DHT is high in the body. This is certainly true when bodybuilders take testosterone and go from having healthy hair to weak thinning hair. The extra testosterone and DHT triggers the onset of balding.
And why do transsexual males have high levels of DHT? Because DHT is the only hormone that can lower oestrogen levels and other female hormones. Testosterone alone does not suppress the ovaries or oestrogen levels, only DHT acts to lower oestrogen. So in theory when transsexual males take testosterone a lot of it is converted to DHT in order for the body to balance it's hormonal system. Your body is trying to counter this high oestrogen level by producing high amounts of DHT to lower it. In other words for those transsexual males who have not had their ovaries removed you may experience balding much earlier due to the body converting testosterone into DHT, which would not happen in cisgendered males because they do not have a high enough oestrogen level to upset the balance.
I am not aware of any publications that show that DHT is higher in trans men compared to non-trans men, but if it exists, I'd love to know about it. I can't comment on the bodybuilders comments, other than it might happen if the body builders take testosterone, which could be converted to DHT in their scalp and increase their already thinning hair. If they don't have the genetics for male pattern baldness, than adding more androgens to their bodies, theoretically, shouldn't cause it, although it might speed up what's already started. There is some sort of misunderstanding about estrogen because a trans man's body can only make DHT from the testosterone that's administered, and the conversion is localized in the skin. outer_heavon, regarding estrogen, are you referring to the conversion of testosterone to estrogen in the ovary??
Quote from: outer_heavon on July 19, 2010, 06:41:36 AM
Whether you are genetically determined to go bald or not, if DHT is present in high amounts almost all humans will bald as a result.
I'm not sure I agree with that (as mentioned above) but would be open to data that support this statement -- that would be very interesting if true. Do you know, outer_heavon, if there are studies to that effects?
Quote from: outer_heavon on July 19, 2010, 06:41:36 AM
For these reasons i believe transsexual males should have their ovaries removed instead of leaving them. For several reasons, the first being we have to inject so much testosterone to counter the oestrogen and this isn't healthy, and two because of DHT and 3 because the ovaries being left can cause problems later, such as cancers etc.
All the evidence gathered to date shows that there is no greater incidence of cancers in trans people versus non-trans people. But I don't think that's necessarily what open_heavon meant with that statement. If the ovaries are left in, then the standard risk of cancer of the ovary still exists, right? The T vs estrogen situation can be an issue for some trans men. I have seen and heard of doctors who can prescribe a lower dose of T for some trans men after their ovaries have been removed, but this is my own anecdotal information. If that's the case, then the higher T can be converted to DHT and it's the DHT that causes male-pattern baldness, so there is something to this statement.
--ATM
