The former Prime Minister certainly suffers from alopecia areata. Catherine Tormo, president of the La Tresse association, talks regarding this common disease.
Par Johanna Amselem
© ERIC FEFERBERG, ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP
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« J’I lost my eyebrows and I don’t think they will come back. My beard has turned white and it’s falling out a bit. My hair is falling too. The mustache is gone. At the microphone of BFMTV, former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe confided in the alopecia from which he suffers. But what is it?
Alopecia is not a disease, but a symptom, that of hair loss. Behind this general term can hide certain non-pathological reasons (such as a scar on the skull which is an area of alopecia) or certain diseases. In the case of Édouard Philippe, it is most certainly an autoimmune disease, alopecia areata, which does not represent a danger to health.
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In France, approximately 2% of the population has suffered, is suffering or will suffer from alopecia areata. In this case, the immune defenses turn towards the body and attack the hair follicles. The reasons for alopecia areata are not clearly known, there is a hereditary component. Certain diseases promote the appearance of alopecia areata, such as type 1 diabetes, vitiligo, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. “The causes of appearance of alopecia areata are still obscure. Stress is often blamed, but this pathology is in the genetic code of patients and is manifested by episodes of flare-ups”, explains Catherine Tormo, president of the association La Tresse, founded in 2020 to unite women affected by alopecia. .
First-line corticosteroids
How does alopecia areata manifest? Generally, it results in round and irregular patches of hair that fall out. “Around the plates, the hair is typically short, broken and looks like exclamation points. The affected area is most often the scalp or beard. Sometimes it is a loss of all the hair (alopecia decalvana), a fall on the sides and back of the scalp (ophiasis) or a hair loss on the top of the skull but not on the periphery of the scalp (sisaïpho). More rarely, all the hairs of the body are affected (the disease is then called “universal alopecia”)”, details the health manual MSDa reference book for doctors and pharmacists.
This media coverage of alopecia is also beneficial for those who suffer from it. “If you suffer from a hair problem, this media coverage shows that you are not alone, the testimony of Édouard Philippe opens the way to other testimonies and makes it possible to democratize this common problem. Today, society tends to make physical problems invisible, to exclude those that go beyond the norm. Societal injunctions will tend to mask certain physical differences in order to fit into a pre-established mould”, regrets the president of the association.
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What treatment for alopecia areata? As Catherine Tormo explains, in first intention, dermatologists generally prescribe topical or oral corticosteroids. “This treatment helps stop inflammation, such as patches of eczema, but its success is variable. There is no cure for alopecia areata, but episodes can be treated. »
Today, the association also intends to fight once morest misinformation and bad advice: “If you suffer from alopecia, do not go to forums, blogs, etc. Rely only on learned sites written by health professionals, as is the case with the Dermato-Info site. Don’t follow any crazy advice or grandma’s recipes either. The best thing to do is to consult a dermatologist specialized in scalp issues, even if the waiting time is sometimes (very) long. »