According to a new study, bald people are at higher risk of severe Covid 19 history. What sounds crazy seems to have a hand.
“We assume that hair loss is an indicator of a severe course of the disease,” researcher Carlos Wambier summarizes the result of his study against Telegraph.co.uk.
The relationship between baldness and severe Covid-19 courses is so great, according to the dermatologist at Brown University in the US state of Rhode Island, that he recommends that baldness be recognized as a risk factor.
Wambier suggests calling him “Gabrin sign” – after Frank Gabrin, the first bald doctor who died in the United States from an infection with Sars-CoV-2.
Male hormones
Since the onset of the corona pandemic, data have shown that men are more often affected than women. So far, researchers have puzzled over the exact reason. Factors such as frequent smoking or differences in the immune system were considered.
There is growing evidence that androgens (male sex hormones such as testosterone) not only play a role in hair loss, but also in the ability of the coronavirus to attack cells. “We believe that androgens or male hormones are definitely the gateway for the virus to enter our cells,” said Wambier of the “Telegraph”.
New treatment approaches
The results of the study are confirmed by other scientific work. Studies from Spain show that up to 79 percent of all male Covid 19 patients who had to be hospitalized were bald. A similar correlation has been found in women who suffer from hair loss associated with androgens.
If the indications are condensed, the treatment could be started there. So it would be possible to suppress these hormones and thus slow the rage of the virus in the body.
According to the researchers, further studies are still required, but the connection is very promising. This is also suggested by an investigation from Italy: According to this, men who receive androgen-suppressing drugs for prostate cancer are four times less likely to be infected with Sars-CoV-2.
