Educational risk assessment · Not a clinical diagnosis

Understand your hair-loss risk before it shows up.

Folliscope compares your clinical profile against the NCBI human androgen-receptor gene reference to estimate androgenetic alopecia (AGA) risk , no DNA test required.

4-minute questionnaire
Live NCBI RefSeq comparison
Runs in your browser

Live preview · NCBI vs. your profile

NCBI reference
22 CAG
Your estimate
17-20 CAG
Risk band
High sensitivity
Example

Shorter CAG tracts on the AR gene make follicles more sensitive to DHT, a key driver of AGA.

~50%
of men over 50 develop AGA
25-40%
of women experience pattern thinning
9 SNPs
in our peer-reviewed panel
NM_000044.6
NCBI AR reference sequence
How it works

Three steps to your risk profile

You don't need a DNA test. Folliscope infers a probable genetic profile from your symptoms and family history, then compares it against the NCBI reference.

01

Answer the questionnaire

Five short sections cover demographics, hair symptoms, family history, and lifestyle. All optional fields are clearly marked.

02

Compare against NCBI

We fetch the human AR gene reference (NM_000044.6) live and estimate where your AR CAG-repeat profile likely sits.

03

See your risk profile

You get a transparent score, a visual NCBI comparison, a confidence indicator, and actionable lifestyle suggestions.

The science

Why the AR gene matters

Androgenetic alopecia is driven by the interaction between dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and the androgen receptor (AR). The AR gene sits on the X chromosome and contains a CAG trinucleotide repeat that calibrates how strongly DHT activates follicle miniaturization.

Shorter CAG repeats make the receptor more responsive to DHT, a well-established association across decades of research (Choong et al. 1996; Hillmer et al. 2005).

X-linked inheritance. Men inherit their X, and therefore their AR gene, from their mother. The strongest single family-history predictor is the maternal grandfather.

The DHT → AGA pathway

1
Testosterone → DHT5α-reductase (SRD5A2) converts testosterone to DHT in the follicle.
2
DHT binds the AR receptorReceptor sensitivity is set by AR CAG-repeat length.
3
Follicle miniaturizationAnagen shortens, hairs thin progressively into vellus hair.

Ready to see where you stand?

A clear, defensible, 4-minute risk profile, with the NCBI reference built in. No account, no DNA upload required.

Start the assessment
Built on authoritative data