Male Pattern Baldness (Androgenic alopecia) also referred to as Hippocratic Baldness, is a term used to describe the very distinctive and common form of head hair loss experienced by men. Hair may begin to thin at the crown and at the temples, and the thinning may progress until terminal hair cover is totally lost in these areas.
Eventually, the balding area may increase until hair loss on the head is almost complete, leaving only 'wings' of hair cover over the ears and around the back of the head below the crown. These areas of hair remain, due to the fact that the blood supply is greatest in these regions.
The onset of this condition can begin at any
age, but is more common in older men, and a majority of men over the age of 60 will experience thinning hair or baldness to some degree.
Premature Baldness (Alopecia praematura) is a condition by which baldness occurs at an earlier age than would normally be expected. Some men begin to 'go thin' in their teens, for example. The condition is usually associated with Male Pattern Baldness.
As a rough guide, 20% of all males suffer some degree of hair loss while in their 20's, and the percentage of males suffering the condition then appears to increment by an amount corresponding with age. 30% of males in their 30's experience hair loss, 40% in their 40's, and so on.
Surprisingly, a conclusive theory of why men suffer the phenomenon still does not exist, but it is generally recognised that certain males have a genetic preponderance toward premature hair loss. In fact a rogue gene has been identified, and this dominant sex linked gene appears to increase the likelihood of the onset of premature hair loss when present.
