I Think My Dad Has Alopecia

hi dr rassman,
my dad i think has alopecia universalis, he has no hair anywhere visible, though he can grow remnants of a beard but ive never really seen it grown out enough to know how much, i read that this disease usually shows up when people are young & in round completely bald patches where the hair falls out in larger amounts than normal shedding. i asked my dad if this is how he lost his hair or gradually and he said gradually and he started when he was 25. does this make sense, is it possible that this could happen later in life, is there anyway to tell what genetic disposition you may have, your mother or father side, cause my dads hair was always very thin even when he wasnt bald im told, but i clearly have my moms hair its very thick, does that indicate whether or not i will go bald or not?

You are correct that alopecia universalis generally appears in the younger men, but that is just an ‘expression’ of the gene and the tie to age may not be absolutely chronologically determined — so it can appear at any age. The ‘complete’ disappearance of hair may also not occur immediately and at times, some hair may be present on the beard for example. To answer what your future has in store, there are people who can do genetic testing for the gene. Maybe you can find this on the referenced links below. As you may know, there is clearly a relationship between alopecia universalis and alopecia areata, so looking at both diseases has relevance. The genetics of the process is nicely outlined in the first reference below:

• HairLossTalk.com
• NAAF.org
• Wikipedia