- Marie Antoinette and the symptoms of the syndrome
- Alopecia areata
- Causes of the syndrome
- The emotional factor
- Was Marie Antoinette under stress?
- Affected and treatment
- Treatment
- Other celebrities affected
- References
The syndrome of Marie Antoinette is a disease that causes hair graying seems to have his head suddenly, becoming completely white in a matter of hours.
However, the real and scientific explanation for this fact is far from popular belief: it is not that the hair turns white, but that the one with color falls out quickly.
Marie Antoinette
The name by which the syndrome is popularly known is due to the ancient legend that states that Marie Antoinette, Queen of France at the time of the French Revolution, was a victim of it. In any case, the scientific name of the disease is alopecia areata, more specifically that of dark hair.
This syndrome has always been associated with stress, fear or high levels of distress. This is because the queen mentioned had that episode when she was awaiting her execution. Although it is true that these factors play a role, the disease itself has several different triggers.
Marie Antoinette and the symptoms of the syndrome
During the revolutionary era, in France at the end of the 18th century, Queen Marie Antoinette did not exactly enjoy the sympathy of the people. She was accused of being wasteful, not caring at all about the poverty in which the majority of the population lived.
An anecdote repeated many times about her (without being able to assure its veracity) tells that, when seeing some citizens ask her for help, she asked her companions why they were complaining.
They replied that it was because they could not make bread, given the price of their raw materials. At this, the queen replied, "Well, have them eat cakes."
History was reproduced throughout Paris and it is not surprising that, after the revolutionary triumph, he was among the first places to be a victim of the guillotine.
It was precisely while awaiting this execution that the queen suffered the syndrome that bears her name. She entered the Bastille prison with black hair, and three days later, when she was on her way to the scaffold, her hair appeared to have turned completely white.
Alopecia areata
Experts point out that a mane takes between 3 and 4 years to grow in length, making it impossible for dark hair to suddenly turn white. What does exist is a strange disease called alopecia areata that causes sudden baldness only in colored hair, which falls completely and leaves only gray hair behind.
When Marie Antoinette began the wait for her execution in the cell, it is said that most of her hair was dark. However, over time most of it was gray.
Perhaps most of her hair fell out, the dark one, and the remainder that hadn't fallen was white. This fall could be due to alopecia areata or stress.
Causes of the syndrome
Despite the importance of the nervous factor, the causes of the syndrome are really different. The first is genetic predisposition. This means that those who suffer from it have, already at birth, a greater probability of suffering it.
On the other hand, alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. It is the organism itself that causes it, without the appearance of a virus or bacteria being necessary for it to develop.
The emotional factor
The emotional factor, that is, anguish, stress or other similar feelings, seems to be related to the development of this syndrome. It is true that experimental evidence of this relationship has not yet been found, but almost all experts assume that it exists.
On the one hand, it is suspected that it may be one of the elements that triggers the disease. In addition, a kind of vicious circle is usually established, since hair loss causes even more stress, which also accelerates hair loss.
Was Marie Antoinette under stress?
The case of Marie Antoinette presents a very clear source of stress: waiting before her execution. Certainly, the queen must already have the genetic predisposition, but the tension and anguish (not only during her stay in the cell, but throughout the revolutionary process) could accelerate the disorder.
According to some scholars, this distress causes the immune system to destroy hair follicles, causing the effects to be faster.
Not surprisingly, stress is also related to other hair conditions, such as dandruff or the appearance of fat. This is because the body begins to produce more hormones that end up having these effects on the scalp.
Affected and treatment
The truth is that the percentage of the population that suffers from this syndrome is very small. According to the available data, only 0.2-0.3% suffer from this type of alopecia. Of course, there are slight variations depending on the area of the world in which you are born.
Treatment
Early diagnosis of this alopecia is one of the most important factors when treating it. Like all autoimmune diseases, it affects each person very differently, so it requires a prior study to see how it can be fought.
In any case, it is a syndrome that is usually cured in more than 80% of cases. Sometimes, hair loss is stopped and even lost hair to recover. Others can be totally cured.
The most common treatments, depending on the affected person and how advanced they are, are drugs that increase the immune system or, on the contrary, others that depress the defenses.
Other celebrities affected
In addition to Marie Antoinette, there is evidence that other well-known characters suffered from the disease. The most typical example, which in fact sometimes gives the syndrome its name when it affects men, is that of Tomás Moro and, furthermore, with a background very similar to that of the queen.
Moro, an English humanist and writer, spent time locked up in the Tower of London awaiting his execution, in 1535. Before it occurred, the same symptoms that the queen would suffer centuries later were observed.
Similarly, several cases are known among soldiers who participated in the two world wars, which seems to support the theory about the emotional factor.
References
- Tardón, Laura. The Marie Antoinette syndrome. Obtained from elmundo.es
- Torres, Cristina. What is the Marie Antoinette syndrome ?. Obtained from centromujer.republica.com
- Ayala, Maite. Marie Antoinette Syndrome: White Hair Overnight. Obtained from supercurioso.com
- Alexander A. Navarini, MD, PhD; Stephan Nobbe, MD. Marie Antoinette Syndrome. Retrieved from jamanetwork.com
- Dr. Murray Feingold. Second Opinion: Can hair really turn white overnight ?. Retrieved from metrowestdailynews.com
- Abrahams, Marc. And his hair turned white overnight '- or did it ?. Retrieved from theguardian.com
- Hammond, Claudia. Can Stress turn your hair gray ?. Retrieved from bbc.com
- Syndromespedia. What is Marie Antoinette Syndrome ?. Retrieved from syndromespedia.com