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Show HEALTH ' ADVICE By Dr. Morris Fishbein Editor, Journal of the Americas Modi-col Modi-col Association This is the second la a series In which Dr. Morris Fishbein discusses the hair, its health and care. If there is any 'one subject that disturbs the average man mors than any other, it is the gradual dissipation of hair from the top of hit scalp. In a atudy of baldness In many families, Osborne concluded thst early baldness is inherited as a dominant character from father to son. In women, baldness is a recessive character, which explains ex-plains why women very rarely are inclined to be bald. There are many factors In the human body which control the growth of hair. Thesa factors are manifested chiefly through the glands of internal secretion. For instance, there is a substance in the pituitary gland which is believed to be definitely related to body growth and others supposed sup-posed to be definitely concerned with the growth of the hair. Eunuchs who have had the mala sex glands removed from the body Bo not become bald, ana there la-known la-known also to be a definite relationship re-lationship between the functioning function-ing of these glanda and the activities ac-tivities of the pituitary gland. Sometimea excessive dryness of the hair ia associated with a lack of activity of the thyroid gland. In people in whom the secretion of the thyroid gland is less than normal, the hair ia thin, dry and lusterless and may be prematurely premature-ly gray. With proper doses of thyroid gland by a physician, the hair and the skin usually Improve. When secretion of the thyroid gland is too great, there are, in addition to the usual symptoms, in many instances thinning of the hair over the scalp and sometimes complete baldness. When there is too much secretion se-cretion of certain portions of the pituitary gland, auperfluous hair may grow on various portions of the body. In women this superfluous super-fluous hair may occur on the chest, the legs, and sometimes also on the face. Observers also noticed that this additional hair waa thick, vlry and oily. However, should the action of the pituitary gland be insufficient, the skin is likely to be smooth, transparent and free from moisture, and there may be a tendency to lack of hair upon the body. Sometimes when there is a disordered dis-ordered action of the adrenal glands the effects may be ob-aerved ob-aerved in the distribution and character of the hair about the body. This varies with a tendency ten-dency to either masculinity er femininity aa a result of the glandular disorder. Next Heredity and ether causes of baldness. |