There are three stages of the hair cycle: the anagen phase (hair growth), the catagen phase (hair follicle death), and the telogen phase (hair shedding). If the anagen phase increases beyond what is normal, that region of the body will experience excessive hair growth. Diagnosis
Hypertrichosis is diagnosed clinically by the occurrence of hair in excess of what is expected for age, sex, and ethnicity in areas that are not androgen-sensitive. The excess can be in the form of excessive length or density and may consist of any hair type (lanugo, vellus, or terminal). Management
There is no cure for any congenital forms of hypertrichosis. The treatment for acquired hypertrichosis is based on attempting to address the underlying cause. Acquired forms of hypertrichosis have a variety of sources, and are usually treated by removing the factor causing hypertrichosis, e.g. a medication with undesired side-effects. All hypertrichosis, congenital or acquired, can be reduced through hair removal. Hair removal treatments are categorized into two principal subdivisions: temporary removal and permanent removal. Treatment may have adverse effects by causing scarring, dermatitis, or hypersensitivity.Temporary hair removal may last from several hours to several weeks, depending on the method used. These procedures are purely cosmetic. Depilation methods, such as trimming, shaving, and depilatories, remove hair to the level of the skin and produce results that last several hours to several days.
Oculopharyngodistal myopathy is a rare genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness affecting various parts of the body. Signs and symptoms
People with this condition exhibit symptoms susch as progressive muscle weakness affecting the eyes, face, and pharynx which consequently results in blepharoptosis, ophthalmoparesis, atrophy of the facial muscles, dysphagia, dysarthria, and muscle weakness and atrophy of the upper and lower distal limbs. These symptoms usually start during adulthood.On rare cases, hearing loss, severe proximal weakness and/or unilateral muscle weakness. Complications
Complications vary depending on the symptoms and their severity, for example, muscle weakness might leave people unable to work on manual labor jobs. Diagnosis
This condition can be diagnosed through physical examination and sequencing of the genes associated with the condition. Genetics
There are four known genetic causes of this disorder:
1. Trinucleotide repeat expansion located in the 5-prime untranslated region of the LRP12 gene. (CGG)2. Trinucleotide repeat expansion located in the 5-prime untranslated region of the G1PC gene. (GGC)3. Trinucleotide repeat expansion located in the non-coding region of the NOTCH2NLC gene. (CGG)4. Trinucleotide repeat expansion located in the 5-prime untranslated region of the RILPL1 gene.All of these mutations are inherited/expressed in an autosomal dominant manner, meaning that for a person to exhibit the symptoms of this condition, they must inherit a copy of the mutated allele from at least one parent, although in other cases, the mutation might not have been inherited, but rather the result of a spontaneous error.