Nearly 45 percent of all people with lupus will suffer from some form of hair loss at some point during the course of their disease. That’s the bad news. The good news? It usually will grow back.
Early hair loss is usually caused by lupus-associated skin disease – either chronic discoid lupus or subacute cutaneous lupus – that interferes with the normal function of the hair follicle.
Medications used to treat lupus can also cause hair loss, prednisone in particular, but other immunosuppressives as well.
In both cases, hair loss is reversible once treatment begins or, in the case of drug-induced hair loss, as treatment is adjusted.
For more about lupus and hair loss, check out Hair Loss & Lupus.
Sources: Hair Loss American Academy of Dermatology. November 2008.
Skin Changes in People with Systemic Lupus. Lupus Foundation of America. November 2008.
