male pattern baldness - Dominant or Recessive?

[Brutus]

Hi,
I made a post earlier about the genetics of hair loss and I'm a little bit confused. I have a mature hairline at 18 although I fear it might get worse based on my thin crown area. I've talked to my dad about it, and although he himself has a full head of hair (NW2), his brother is a NW5 and both of his grandfathers were Norwood 6-7 at age 30 from what my grandparent have told me. My mom has thinning hair but her side of the family has no history of anything past NW3. My 26 year old cousin on my moms side is nw6 but his dad went bald very young so I suspect that's where he got it. Anyway, can male pattern baldness be a recessive gene? I've seen tons of cases where a guy has no real family history and still goes bald.

Thanks

 

[wrwr]

I think, several genes are involved in it. And male pattern baldness scenarios and patterns are different as well.
So, it does not really matter that much for you at this moment. You cannot change genetic code of yours, even if you don't like it

 

[abcdefg]

yeah it doesnt matter much in the end your either going bald or your not. The family history is just some big vague idea of where you might end up but not for sure

 

[zzzzz]

like a lot of genes it doesn't fit on the typical grid you use to determine the odds of getting a trait that you use in your science class

 

[EvilLocks]

Yes, it can happen. I don't know why someone in a family goes bald and others doesn't, but it sure can happen. Either you're lucky or you're not.

 

[corvidae]

one "catch" of a lot of genetics is that evolution only cares to getting you to mating age and passing on your genes. What happens after is inconsequential.
The double-edged sword of MBP is it tends to imply higher sensitivity to testosterone, making a more suitable mate. However, when you get older... well...