What is alopecia, the autoimmune disease affecting Jada Pinkett Smith and so many others?

A illness that causes hair loss is on the heart of probably the most talked-about second at Sunday’sOscars ceremony. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith disclosed 4 years in the past that she has alopecia and it’s the explanation she has shaved her head or worn turbans in public.

It’s unclear ifcomedianChris Rock knew that when he joked about her baldness throughout Sunday night time’s ceremony, however Smith grimaced and her husband, actor Will Smith, strode to the stage, smacked Rock within the face and profanely instructed him to not discuss his spouse.

Jada Pinkett Smith’s situation is named alopecia areata, a illness that happens when the physique’s immune system assaults hair follicles, typically on the scalp or face, however typically on different elements of the physique. Generally hair falls out in chunks and solely partial baldness outcomes. Generally hair grows again however repeated bouts of baldness can even happen.

Pinkett Smith revealed she was affected by alopecia throughout an episode of her “Pink Desk Speak” Fb Watch present in 2018. “Lots of people have been asking why I’ve been sporting turbans,” she mentioned. “Nicely, I haven’t talked about it. It’s not straightforward to speak about, however I’m going to speak about it.

“… I used to be within the bathe at some point and had simply handfuls of hair in my palms and I used to be similar to, ‘Oh, my God, am I going bald?’”

In response to the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, it impacts all racial and ethnic teams, women and men equally. There isn’t any treatment, however typically medical doctors advocate treating it with steroids, drugs that suppress the immune system, or medication that work to stimulate hair development.

The Nationwide Alopecia Areata Affiliation says the situation impacts about 2% of the inhabitants, or as many as nearly 7 million Individuals. It might probably happen at any age, however most frequently in the course of the teen years or younger maturity. Jada Pinkett Smith is 50.

Different public figures with the situation embody Ayanna Pressley, a Democratic congresswoman from Massachusetts, British actor and comic Matt Lucas and bluegrass musician Molly Tuttle.

Alopecia tends to run in households. Complete hair loss affecting all the physique can occur, however is uncommon. The situation can even trigger dents and ridges in fingernails and toenails, however affected individuals are in any other case wholesome.