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Hirsutism (from Latin hirsutus = shaggy, hairy) or Frazonism or is defined as excessive and increased hair
Hair

Hair is a protein filament that epidermal growth from hair follicle deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats....
 growth in women in locations where the occurrence of terminal hair
Terminal hair

Terminal hairs are thick, long, and dark, as compared with vellus hair. During puberty, the increase in androgenic hormone levels causes vellus hair to be replaced with terminal hair in certain parts of the human body....
 normally is minimal or absent. It refers to a male pattern of body hair (androgenic hair
Androgenic hair

Androgenic hair, colloquially Body hair, is the terminal hair on the human body developed during and after puberty. It is differentiated from the head hair and less visible vellus hair....
) and it is therefore primarily of cosmetic
Beauty

Beauty is a characteristic of a person, Location , Object , or idea that provides a perception experience of pleasure, Value , or satisfaction....
 and psychological concern. Hirsutism is a symptom
Symptom

A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality. A symptom is subjective, observed by the patient, and not measured....
 rather than a disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 and may be a sign of a more serious medical indication, especially if it develops well after puberty
Puberty

Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Puberty is initiated by hormone signals from the brain to the gonads ....
.

cause of hirsutism can be either an increased level of androgen
Androgen

Androgen is the generic term for any natural or synthetic compound, usually a steroid hormone, that stimulates or controls the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors....
s (male hormone
Hormone

Hormones are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism....
s) or an oversensitivity of hair follicles to androgens.






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Hirsutism (from Latin hirsutus = shaggy, hairy) or Frazonism or is defined as excessive and increased hair
Hair

Hair is a protein filament that epidermal growth from hair follicle deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats....
 growth in women in locations where the occurrence of terminal hair
Terminal hair

Terminal hairs are thick, long, and dark, as compared with vellus hair. During puberty, the increase in androgenic hormone levels causes vellus hair to be replaced with terminal hair in certain parts of the human body....
 normally is minimal or absent. It refers to a male pattern of body hair (androgenic hair
Androgenic hair

Androgenic hair, colloquially Body hair, is the terminal hair on the human body developed during and after puberty. It is differentiated from the head hair and less visible vellus hair....
) and it is therefore primarily of cosmetic
Beauty

Beauty is a characteristic of a person, Location , Object , or idea that provides a perception experience of pleasure, Value , or satisfaction....
 and psychological concern. Hirsutism is a symptom
Symptom

A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality. A symptom is subjective, observed by the patient, and not measured....
 rather than a disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 and may be a sign of a more serious medical indication, especially if it develops well after puberty
Puberty

Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Puberty is initiated by hormone signals from the brain to the gonads ....
.

Causes

The cause of hirsutism can be either an increased level of androgen
Androgen

Androgen is the generic term for any natural or synthetic compound, usually a steroid hormone, that stimulates or controls the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors....
s (male hormone
Hormone

Hormones are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism....
s) or an oversensitivity of hair follicles to androgens. Male hormones such as testosterone
Testosterone

Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testis of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands....
 stimulate hair growth, increase size and intensify the growth and pigmentation of hair. Other symptoms associated with a high level of male hormones include acne
Acne vulgaris

Acne vulgaris is a skin condition caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units . Severe acne is inflammation, but acne can also manifest in noninflammatory forms....
 and deepening of the voice and increased muscle mass.

Growing evidence implicates high circulating levels of insulin
Insulin

Insulin is a hormone with extensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems . Insulin causes most of the body's cells to take up glucose from the blood , storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stops use of fat as an energy source....
 in women to the development of hirsutism. This theory is consistent with the observation that obese (and thus presumably insulin resistant hyperinsulinemic) women are at high risk of becoming hirsute. Further, treatments that lower insulin
Insulin

Insulin is a hormone with extensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems . Insulin causes most of the body's cells to take up glucose from the blood , storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stops use of fat as an energy source....
 levels will lead to a reduction in hirsutism.

It is speculated that insulin, at high enough concentration, stimulates the ovarian theca cells to produce androgens. There may also be an effect of high levels of insulin to activate the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) receptor in those same cells. Again, the result is increased androgen production.

The following may be some of the conditions that may increase a woman's normally low level of male hormones:
  • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
  • Cushing's disease
  • Tumor
    Tumor

    A tumor or tumour is the name for a swelling or lesion formed by an abnormal growth of cells . Tumor is not synonymous with cancer. A tumor can be Benign neoplasm, Carcinoma in situ or malignant, whereas cancer is by definition malignant....
    s in the ovaries or adrenal gland
    Adrenal gland

    In mammals, the adrenal glands are the star-shaped endocrine glands that sit on top of the kidneys; their name indicates that position . They are chiefly responsible for regulating the stress response through the biosynthesis of corticosteroids and catecholamines, including cortisol and adrenaline, respectively....
     (cancer
    Cancer

    Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
    )
  • Certain medications
  • Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
    Congenital adrenal hyperplasia

    Congenital adrenal hyperplasia refers to any of several autosomal recessive diseases resulting from mutations of genes for enzymes mediating the biochemical steps of production of cortisol from cholesterol by the adrenal glands ....
  • Insulin resistance
    Insulin resistance

    Insulin resistance is the condition in which normal amounts of insulin are inadequate to produce a normal Insulin#Physiological_effects from fat, muscle and liver cell ....
  • Stromal Hyperthecosis - in postmenopausal women
  • Obesity
    Obesity

    Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to an extent that health may be negatively affected. It is commonly defined as a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher....
     : As there is peripheral conversion of estrogen to androgen in these patients, this is the same mechanism of PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome).


Appearance and evaluation

Hirsutism only affects women, since the rising of androgens causes a male pattern of body hair, particularly in locations where women normally do not develop terminal hair within their puberty
Puberty

Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. Puberty is initiated by hormone signals from the brain to the gonads ....
 (chest
Chest hair

The term chest hair is generally used to describe hair that grows on the chest of human males, in the region between the neck and the human abdomen....
, abdomen
Abdominal hair

The term abdominal hair refers to the hair that grows on the human abdomen of humans and non-human mammals, in the region between the pubic area and the thorax ....
, back and face
Facial hair

Facial hair is a secondary sex characteristic in human males. Many men start developing facial hair in the later years of puberty, approximately between 18-20 years old and most men don't finish developing a fully adult beard until their early 20s or even later....
). The medical term for excessive hair growth that affect both men and women is hypertrichosis
Hypertrichosis

Hypertrichosis specifically refers to hair density or length beyond the accepted limits of normal for a particular age, race, or sex, and may be generalized or localized, and may be lanugo, vellus, or terminal hair....
.

One method of evaluating hirsutism is the Ferriman-Gallwey score
Ferriman-Gallwey score

The Ferriman-Gallwey score is a method of evaluating and quantifying hirsutism in women, a condition where there is too much body hair.Hair growth is rated from 0 to 4 , in nine locations, giving a maximum score of 36....
 which gives a score based on the amount and location of hair growth on a woman.

Treatment

Many women with unwanted hair seek methods of hair removal
Hair removal

Hair removal describes any method of removing hair, especially from the human body.*Depilation affects the part of the hair above the surface of the skin....
 to control the appearance of hirsutism. But the actual causes should be evaluated by physicians, who can conduct blood tests, pinpoint the specific origin of the abnormal hair growth, and advise on the best course of treatment. One of the few treatments is the antiandrogen
Antiandrogen

An antiandrogen, or androgen antagonist, is any of a group of hormone receptor antagonist compounds that are capable of preventing or inhibiting the biologic effects of androgens, male sex hormones, on normally responsive tissues in the body ....
 drug Spironolactone
Spironolactone

Spironolactone is a diuretic and is used as an antiandrogen.It is a synthetic 17-lactone drug that is a renal competitive aldosterone antagonist in a class of pharmaceuticals called potassium-sparing diuretics, used primarily to treat heart failure, ascites in patients with liver disease, low-renin hypertension, hypokalemia, and Conn's syn...
.

See also

  • androgenic hair
    Androgenic hair

    Androgenic hair, colloquially Body hair, is the terminal hair on the human body developed during and after puberty. It is differentiated from the head hair and less visible vellus hair....
  • hypertrichosis
    Hypertrichosis

    Hypertrichosis specifically refers to hair density or length beyond the accepted limits of normal for a particular age, race, or sex, and may be generalized or localized, and may be lanugo, vellus, or terminal hair....
  • hair removal
    Hair removal

    Hair removal describes any method of removing hair, especially from the human body.*Depilation affects the part of the hair above the surface of the skin....
  • bearded woman
  • Trichophilia
    Trichophilia

    Trichophilia is a paraphilia in which one becomes Sexual arousal by, or is extremely fond of, human hair; commonly Hair#Head_hair.Arousal may occur from and physical contact of hair, this includes head hair, pubic hair, axillary hair and fur....


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