Autoimmune Alopecia Areata Due to Thymoma Without Myasthenia Gravis: A Case Report
May 2023
in “
Surgical Case Reports
”
TLDR A woman's hair loss improved after removing a tumor in her thymus gland, suggesting hair loss can be linked to such tumors even without a specific muscle weakness condition.
A 60-year-old woman with rapid alopecia areata, an autoimmune hair loss condition, was discovered to have a thymoma, a tumor in the thymus gland, but did not have myasthenia gravis, a condition often linked with thymoma. Despite two months of topical steroids, her hair loss did not improve. A biopsy revealed CD8-positive lymphocytes in her hair follicles. However, her hair loss improved two months after a transsternal extended thymectomy was performed to remove the thymoma. This case indicates that alopecia areata can be a rare complication in thymoma cases without myasthenia gravis, and thoracic surgeons should be aware of this potentiality.
