Hair Restoration Blog

I have recently seen a familial case of hair loss that was caused by exposure to fungus toxin.  Three members of a family were referred to me by their doctor for hair loss problems secondary to the diagnosed chronic mold exposure.  The family used to live in a house with a sewage problem causing some molding in the old walls approximately three years ago.  The walls with mold were painted over but never changed.  The family members presented a variety of symptoms such as nausea, sleep disorder, and speech problems.  The female member showed some cognitive disorders with episodes of sever confusion and was initially diagnosed with premature Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 53.  A 34 year old male member of the family had seizure attacks and episodes of nose bleeding.  What was reported by all these patients was hair loss.

The female member of the family had diffuse loss of hair as universal thinning and loss of hair volume.  During the examination, hair thinning was obvious on a large area of the scalp.  Microscopic examination did not show significant miniaturization, however, hair density was significantly lower than density of a normal Caucasian woman with no hair loss.  We scheduled her for a follow up visit in 6 months.

A 34 year old male member of the family showed evidence of typical male patterned hair loss that was not evident in the pictures from 3 years ago (before the mold exposure).  The miniaturization study was similar to atypical male patterned hair loss with preserved hair on the donor area with minimum miniaturization despite having significant miniaturization on a large area at front, top and crown areas.  I prescribed finasteride and scheduled him for a follow up visit in 6 months.  We will address the need for a hair transplant at that point.

A 40 year old male member of the family showed diffuse miniaturization throughout scalp.  The patient did not have any hair loss problem before the exposure to the toxin.  This patient has also been started on finasteride with a follow up visit in six months.

Below we describe two known fungal toxins that may cause hair loss in addition to other symptoms.

Stachybotrys

Some strains of this fungus (S. atra, S. chartarum and S. alternans are synonymous) may produce a toxin, which is poisonous by inhalation. The toxins are present on the fungal spores. This is a slow growing fungus. The dark colored fungi grow on building material with high cellulose content (wooden material). Areas with relative high humidity that are subject to temperature fluctuations are ideal for toxin production.

Individuals with chronic exposure to the toxin produced by this fungus reported cold and flu symptoms, sore throats, diarrhea, headaches, fatigue, dermatitis, intermittent local loss of hair and balding and generalized malaise. Animals injected with the toxin from this fungus exhibited the following symptoms, necrosis and hemorrhage within the brain, thymus, spleen, intestine, lung, heart, lymph node, liver, and kidney.

This organism is rarely found in outdoor samples.  Appropriate media for the growth of this organism will have high cellulose content and low nitrogen content. The spores will die rapidly after release. The dead spores are still allergenic and toxigenic.  Percutaneous absorption has caused mild symptoms.

Aspergillus

Aspergillus is the most common genus of fungi in our environment with more than 160 different species of mold. Sixteen of these species have been documented as causing human disease. Aspergillosis is now the 2nd most common fungal infection requiring hospitalization in the United States. Exposure to aspergillus can often cause skin rashes and hair loss.
Symptoms of Fungal Exposure (Mycotoxicosis)
Mold toxicity is often the end result with constant exposure to mold of a toxic substance. A common misconception among allergists who are untrained in this type of toxicity levels in humans, which is technically not their area of expertise unless they have trained specifically in environmental medicine with their background in immunology, is to do general allergen testing. Most tests usually result in an unequivocal result, a 2+ or less.

This induces some physicians to order allergy shots, regardless. These shots are absolutely worthless (and could possibly be harmful) to a person who has been heavily exposed to these mycotoxins as they are already in a state of toxicity. If anything, this could exacerbate the problem. Because many doctors are not trained in this field, they may try to “guess” at a diagnosis.

In laymen’s terms, molds produce mycotoxins. These substances, although unseen by the naked eye, are ingested and then enter the body through the skin, mucous and airways. Once ingested, mold has the requirements to colonize and spread. In doing this, it can compromise the immune system and damage the everyday processes of the body. Mold and yeast are interchangeable only in their dimorphic state, which is often a big misconception, although both are fungi. There has been a theory of a connection between Autism Spectrum Disorder onset and Candida Albicans in the body.  Studies have started since the first quarter of 2006.

Fungi, which include yeasts, moulds, smuts and mushrooms, are responsible for causing four types of mycotic (fungal) disease:

• Hypersensitivity - an allergic reaction to moulds and spores
• Mycotoxicosis - poisoning by food products contaminated by fungi
• Mycetismus - the ingestion of preformed toxin (toadstool poisoning)
• Infection (systemic) - (Mycotoxicosis; the subject below)

The following are a list of the most common symptoms of fungal exposure. Most people with some forms of Mycotoxicosis meet at least 8 symptoms of the following criteria:

1. Fibromyalgia/mps (and several correlated symptoms)
2. Respiratory distress, coughing, sneezing, sinusitis
3. Difficulty swallowing, choking, spitting up (vomiting) mucous
4. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
5. Burning in the throat and lungs (similar to acid reflux and often misdiagnosed as such)
6. Asthmatic signs; wheezing, shortness in breath, coughing, burning in lungs, etc.
7. Irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, diarrhea, sharp abdominal pains, stomach lesions
8. Bladder, liver,. spleen, or kidney pain
9. Dark or painful urine
10. Dirt-like taste in mouth, coated tongue
11. Food allergies/leaky gut syndrome/altered immunity
12. Memory loss; brain fog, slurred speech, occasionally leading to dementia
13. Vision problems
14. Swollen lymph nodes
15. Large boils on neck (often a sign of anaphylaxis)
16. Yellowing of nails, ridges, or white marks under nail
17. Thyroid irregularities, sometimes leading to complete dysfunction; adrenal problems
18. Headaches
19. Anxiety/depression, heart palpitations - confusion, PTSD
20. Extreme blood pressure, cholesterol, or triglycerides irregularities
21. Ringing in ears, balance problems (very common), dizziness, loss of hearing (aspergillus niger)
22. Chronic fatigue (also included under this classification directional confusion)
23. Intermittent face flushing; almost always systemic, Called the Mylar Flush (neurological»
24. Night head sweats, and drooling while sleeping, profuse sweating
25. Multiple chemical sensitivity; only upon exposure to Stachybotrys and Chaetomium
26. Nose bleeds (stachybotrys)
27. Bruising/scarring easily; rash or hives, bloody lesions all over the skin (Often systemic)
28. Reproductive system complications; infertility, changes in menstrual cycles, miscarriage
29. Sudden weight changes (Detoxifier genotypes tend to gain weight, non detoxifier genotypes tend to lose weight)
30. Cancer
31. Hair loss, very brittle nails, temporary loss of fingerprints (in rare cases)
32. Joint/muscle stiffness and pain
33. Irregular heart beat/heart attack
34. Seizures, inadvertent body jerking, twitching, inadvertent facial movements or numbness in face
35. Hypersensitivity when re-exposed to molds, which can lead to anaphylaxis
36. Anaphylaxis upon re-exposure to mycotoxin producing molds
37. Death, in extreme cases