Dear Dr. Gott: I read your column a while ago about a 77-year-
old woman who was experiencing hair loss. At the age of 75, I, too,
was losing my hair. My doctor checked my vitamin B-12 level, and it
was very low. I was started on the tablets that dissolve under my
tongue.
It has been just a few months since I began the B-12 and I now
have a thick, healthy head of hair again. Perhaps this suggestion
will help the woman and maybe some of your readers suffering hair
loss.
Dear Reader: There is evidence hair loss may be connected with a
deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals, specifically B-12, zinc
and biotin. We sometimes fail to realize that the body is a system
designed to function as a complete unit. As part of that unit, hair
requires proper nutrition .
Some sources of the vitamin include milk, eggs, poultry, fish,
shellfish and fortified cereals. Some people may also require
injections of the vitamin in order to achieve better absorption .
Dear Dr. Gott: My loved one has primary progressive aphasia. He
can't remember anyone's name, including his own. All nouns are
forgotten, and even 30 seconds after you remind him, he has
forgotten again. This is a horrible disease.
Dear Reader: Primary progressive aphasia (also known as
frontotemporal dementia or Pick's disease) is a rare neurological
condition that affects a person's ability to speak. Language
capabilities become increasingly impaired over time. The condition
may be acquired because of brain damage that may have occurred from
stroke, tumor or head injury .
Symptoms vary from person to person and include difficulty
identifying objects, failure to understand written words, the misuse
of grammar and pauses in speech when searching for words. Oddly,
those pauses generally don't occur when making small talk. Symptoms
usually begin between 55 and 60 years of age and worsen over time.
Risk doesn't increase with age, and it is unusual for FTD to present
after the age of 75. The condition is more common in men than in
women .
Dr. Gott can be reached c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., 4th
floor, New York, NY 10016.
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