male pattern baldness associated with elevated cholesterol levels

HEALTH; Baldness Seen as a Link to Risk Factors in Heart Disease
Published: May 31, 1990

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Men who have male pattern baldness, with a receding hairline and hair loss at the crown of the head, may also develop higher cholesterol levels and higher blood pressure as they age than men who have more hair, research suggests.

''Baldness isn't a risk factor for heart disease,'' said Dr. Maurizio Trevisan, a cardiologist at the State University of New York at Buffalo who helped in the research. ''But it is associated with other risk factors.''

Dr. Trevisan, who presented the findings at a recent conference sponsored by the American Heart Association, said the link had not yet been explained. ''We can't say that if you exhibit typical male pattern baldness you're going to have a heart attack,'' he added.

The researchers speculate that the results may be tied to increased hormone levels that some studies have linked with male pattern baldness.

'Something Worth Looking at'

''There is something there worth looking at,'' said Dr. Russell V. Luepker, a professor of cardiology and epidemiology at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, who was chairman of the conference. ''It could be that blood pressure and cholesterol levels are influenced directly or indirectly by the same hormones involved in hair loss, but there could be other intervening factors. We need more detailed studies to confirm and explain the association.''

The research, which involves 872 male factory workers, is part of a long-term study of coronary risk factors. The study began in 1975 at the University of Naples Medical School in Italy. About 37 percent of the men show no signs of hair loss, 31 percent have a receding hairline and 32 percent have fronto-occipital baldness, the typical male pattern baldness characterized by a receding hairline and hair loss on the crown of the head.

Higher Cholesterol Levels

Men with this male pattern baldness had cholesterol levels five to six milligrams higher than the other men, or about 213.5 milligrams per deciliter. Their diastolic blood pressure was about two points higher, averaging 89.1 millimeters of mercury. The findings were independent of age, body fat, smoking and use of alcohol.

''We are aware that these are not numbers that place these men in a very high-risk category for developing coronary heart disease,'' Dr. Trevisan said. ''But this may change as the men age.''

The average age of the study's participants was 43, he said.

About 600 of the men involved in the most recent part of the study also participated in 1975. A check of the earlier data showed no significant difference in blood pressure and cholesterol levels among the three groups of men. Blood pressure and cholesterol readings increased in all of the men in the study from 1975 to 1987, but the increase was steeper in men with fronto-occipital baldness, the researchers found.

when systemic progesterone and systemic cortisol levels are too low, this causes too high DHT metabolism in hair follicles which in turn causes excess free radical damage to the hair follicles on our head in areas where the blood flow is restricted ("due to genetic predisposition").

Relatively high levels of progesterone are necessary to compete with DHT for DHT receptors. When progesterone triggers a DHT receptor, then DHT cannot trigger that receptor, and the progesterone which enters the cell triggers progesterone's actions not DHT's actions.

Relatively high levels of cortisol are necessary to oppose / downregulate DHT metabolism. Cortisol acts directly on our genes to effect the downregulation of both our T metabolism and our DHT metabolism.

When the cortisol-production-line hormones progesterone and cortisol are too downregulated, then cells will aromatase T into E2, and use the E2 to oppose T metabolism and DHT metabolism. To our cells, this is "Plan B". "Plan A" is to use progesterone and cortisol to oppose / downregulate T and DHT metabolism.

While using E2 to oppose T metabolism and DHT metabolism works well in cells which absorb DHT from serum, it works very poorly in cells which manufacture their own DHT (eg: prostate, and hair follicles, ie: all cells with plenty of 5α reductase). Hence these cells continue to experience too high DHT metabolism even in the presence of too high E2.

At the onset of male pattern baldness, our progesterone and our cortisol have gone too low, which would allow T metabolism and DHT metabolism to go too high, so our cells invoke their secondary defence mechanism and increase E2, and they then use E2 to oppose T metabolism and DHT metabolism.

Meta-analyses have found a significant relationship between saturated fat and serum cholesterol levels.[16] High serum cholesterol levels, which may be caused by many factors, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.[17] A majority of original studies combined in this meta-analysis found no independent relationship between saturated fat intake and coronary heart disease, which suggests that cholesterol levels that are elevated due to saturated fat intake may be less dangerous than cholesterol levels that are elevated for other reasons.[18] However, saturated fat intake may be associated with fatal outcomes from coronary heart disease.[18]

Substitution of the fat from one ounce of nuts for equivalent energy from saturated fat was associated with a 45% reduction in risk of coronary heart disease.[19]

mphatesmpb wrote:Guys,

I've observed significant thinning on the crown after adopting a high protein/fat (especially animal fats and sources of saturated fats) diet over the last 6 months. I'm wondering if the large amounts of saturated fats increased my serum cholesterol, which correlates with male pattern baldness. Ironically, I've observed stabilization and improvement in the frontal parts of my scalp. I was taking tocotrienols, krill oil, and curc/res.

-mp

Steven_Tyler wrote:My cholesterol levels are low, probably due to my food is Rich in Fiber, this can be good or bad ?

CausticSymmetry wrote:

Steven_Tyler wrote:My cholesterol levels are low, probably due to my food is Rich in Fiber, this can be good or bad ?

What's your cholesterol level?

Steven_Tyler wrote:

CausticSymmetry wrote:

Steven_Tyler wrote:My cholesterol levels are low, probably due to my food is Rich in Fiber, this can be good or bad ?

What's your cholesterol level?

<200 (Good) ~ >240 (Bad)

My level= 129mg/dl

CausticSymmetry wrote:mphatesmpb - Elevated cholesterol occurs during an infection. Saturated fat does not appreciably increase cholesterol levels either.

http://healthyfixx.com/food-and-diet/1/busting-the-myths-of-saturated-fat

The only real bad cholesterol is Lipoprotein(a). The so-called "bad" cholesterol known as LDL protects against infection.

Saturated fat lowers Lipoprotein(a) levels.