Investigation on Premature Graying of Hair

Hair and skin play an important role in peoples’ physical appearance. Hair length, color, and style all have contributed to the physical appearance of people. Melanogenesis is the process that the hair goes through to synthesize melanin. Tobin DJ, Paus R. Studies show that hair color depends upon the melanogenesis process and its following distribution from the melanocyte to keratinocyte. The hair follicles in individuals contain two types of melanin: the black-brown pigment eumelanin present in black and brown hairs and the yellow or red pheomelanin in reddish-brown and light-colored hair). 90% of deep brown-black hair is presenting in the world's population. It plays a role in protecting against sunstroke. The melanin plays a role in ion transport and effluxes for fair salt balance.

The remaining percentages mostly originate from northern Europe, which there do not contribute to environment-friendly brown-black hair. Studies show that people how's life in less sunny climates like northern Europe the have mutations in melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), a G-protein coupled receptor. Individuals with white blonde, yellow blonde, and reddish-brown color of hair have mutations in the MC1R gene. In concluding that natural selection pressures possibly restrained this mutation in the sunny tropical areas.

A Canities is a scientific term used to describe hair graying. It is considered a physiological phenomenon with getting older, despite any factors like gender and race. In case it appears in young, the term use is as premature graying of hair or premature canities. As hair plays an important role in social acceptance and appearance, premature hair graying or canities has some adverse effects on peoples’. It will affect the self-esteem and socio-cultural acceptance of people. Which sometimes reflects as signs of getting older, loss of health and Energy, and have contributed with difficulties in marriage. The scientist defines the canities as it is part of the process of chronological aging and occurs regardless of gender or race. The premature canities is graying of hair which appears around 30 -34 years in Japanese men and between 35 -39 years in Japanese women. Caucasians they start to gray in their mid-30s, while in Asians they start in their late 30s. In another hand, Africans, latest in their mid-40s while Bantus, graying of hair is said to be uncommon before 40-50 years of age. Both sexes are equally affected.

Premature graying of hair has a poorly understood etiology. Additionally, It is a common cause for referral to the dermatologist. Reducing in melanogenically is the active form of melanocytes that located in the hair bulb of gray anagen hair follicles with subsequent pigment loss is central to the pathogenesis of graying. Other studies report the defective melanosomal transfers to cortical keratinocytes and melanin incontinence due to melanocyte degeneration. The hair bulb melanocytes have the high synthetic capacity. That is highest during youth when the scalp follicular melanin unit is only a few cycles old. It is considered a progressive and permanent phenomenon, but in another hand, there were reports of spontaneous repigmentation.In case of reporting of repigmentation of gray hair which follows specific inflammatory processes and use of drugs have contributed with the cytokine-induced recruitment of outer sheath melanocytes to the hair bulb and rekindled.

In reversible hypopigmentation of hair has seen in combination with nutritional insufficiencies for example kwashiorkor, nephrosis, celiac disease, and other causes of malabsorption. Severe iron deficiency and copper deficiency also has been associated. Additional causes compared include stress and administration of certain medications. Some of medication that has been reported are chloroquine, mephenesin, phenylthiourea, triparanol, fluorobutyrophenone, dixyrazine, the epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor imatinib and interferon - alpha, and use of certain chemicals (medicated oils) and topically applied agents like dithranol, chrysarobin, resorcin, prostaglandin F 2 alpha (PGF 2 alpha) analogs. Oxidative stress produced outside hair follicle melanocytes, for example, by pollution, UV light, psycho-emotional or inflammatory stress, may add to this endogenous oxidative tension and overwhelm the hair follicle melanocyte antioxidant capability appearing in contribute to terminal damage of hair follicle.

Studies report that smoking was significantly associated with hair graying, and destroyed of stem cell regenerative ability with substance abuse was postulated to lead to graying in a single case report. Premature graying has been shown associated with several autoimmune (AI) diseases such as vitiligo, pernicious anemia, AI thyroid disorders, and premature aging syndromes like Werner's syndrome. Furthermore, Iron and vitamin B12 have been shown to affect hair growth and pigmentation. Studies show a role for environmental factors, such as UV light, environment weather, smoking, medications, trace elements, and nutritional disorders in the pathogenesis of premature graying.