Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 92: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of people who have presented themselves with alopecia in Dublin 15. [21360/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Alopecia is a recurrent non-scarring type of hair loss that can affect any hair-bearing area. Although medically benign, alopecia can cause tremendous emotional and psychosocial stress in affected patients and their families.

The pathophysiology of alopecia remains unknown. The most widely accepted hypothesis is that alopecia is a T-cell mediated autoimmune condition that is most likely to occur in genetically predisposed individuals. Genetic factors are likely to play an important role in determining susceptibility and disease severity. The role of environmental factors and stressful events in initiating or triggering the condition is yet to be determined.

As alopecia is not a notifiable disease and does not generally require hospitalisation, information on the number of persons presenting with this condition is not available.