Is androgenetic alopecia a disease or part of the natural aging process?
A very difficult question to answer. There are dermatologists who regard androgenetic alopecia as a disease and there are those who believe it is simply part of the aging process. There are two slightly different dictionary interpretations of the word disease. 1) A disease may be a dis-ease, something that causes discomfort, trouble, inconvenience, or is dangerous to the individual. Androgenetic alopecia is not painful and does not limit the individual s physical ability to live their life as might other life threatening and life limiting diseases. Androgenetic alopecia may cause emotional discomfort but this is of our own making in our image oriented society. In my opinion androgenetic alopecia does not fall within this first interpretation of disease. 2) The second explanation for the word disease is a particular destructive process in an organ or organism, with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms. Clearly, this interpretation fits with all that we know about androgenetic al
