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Editorial Quite unusually, two of the feature articles in this issue of Hair Route revolve around the subject of insulin and hair growth. In her article Insulin Resistance and the Hair Growth Connection, electrologist Shelby Owens tells us about her experience working with a doctor to script a predictable hair pattern that would signal a history of diabetes in a patient and indicate testing for insulin resistance. The second article, Hair Follicles and the Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF-1), adapted from a paper by Dr. Hung-Yi Su, et al, shows the results of research to determine how IGF-1 might be used to increase wool production in sheep. IGF-1, which has been identified as an important growth factor in many biological systems, is similar in structure to insulin and exerts insulin-like effects on food intake and glucose metabolism. Electrologists have always been aware of the relationship between hirsutism and possible underlying medical conditions. In the last 30 years, electrologists have become very familiar with the tie between hirsutism and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and have learned to automatically refer certain clients to a medical specialist for evaluation (usually to the great satisfaction of the client). Dr. Robert Greenblatt (mentioned in Ms. Owens’s article), famed endocrinologist and good friend of the electrolysis community during the 1970s, initiated much of the early research on PCOS and was to be thanked for keeping electrologists of his day in the diagnosis and medical treatment loop. But it is only in the last five years or so that the medical field has recognized the links between insulin resistance, PCOS and persistent hair growth. More and more, in medical journals and at the lectures we attend these days, research is confirming the diabetes/hirsutism connection and emphasizing the role that electrologists can play in the detection of this debilitating disease. Insulin resistance is a cluster of abnormalities in glucose and lipid (blood fats) metabolism, obesity, and high blood pressure. When insulin resistance, or reduced insulin sensitivity exists, the body attempts to overcome this resistance by secreting more insulin from the pancreas. This compensatory state of hyperinsulinemia (high insulin levels in the blood) is felt to be a marker for the syndrome. The development of Type II, or non-insulin dependent diabetes occurs when the pancreas fails to sustain this increase in insulin secretion. Hair Route columnist, Geoffrey Redmond, MD, puts it more succinctly when he says, “After years of far-fetched theorizing, we seem to be getting closer to a correct understanding of PCOS. One of the basic abnormalities is insulin resistance. The body cannot properly respond to insulin and so the pancreas releases more, driving up levels in the blood.” In North America alone, an estimated 16 million people, almost 6% of the total population, have some form of diabetes. With these epidemic proportions of Type II adult onset diabetes, a great deal of study is being done. It is important for electrologists to remember that being in the front lines, they are strategically positioned to anticipate possible underlying medical conditions and make recommendations for clients to seek medical attention that may help their quality of life, both mentally and physically. In some cases they may even save lives. As Ms. Owens points out in her article, “Superfluous hair may prove to be the very best marker for diabetes. Educated electrologists now have the opportunity to present information to the medical community that will enable them to more accurately diagnose, treat, and prevent diabetes and atherosclerosis, both potentially fatal – but in their mildest form diminishing the quality of life.” – Derek R. Copperthwaite |
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