Classification of Hair Diseases
April 2012
in “
Informa Healthcare eBooks
”
TLDR Classifying hair diseases, like alopecia, is difficult and needs more research to understand their causes.
The 2012 document discusses the complexities in classifying hair diseases, especially alopecia, due to overlapping features. It differentiates between cicatricial alopecia, which leads to permanent hair follicle loss, and noncicatricial alopecia, which may be reversible. The document notes the challenge in classifying primary cicatricial alopecias because of the absence of specific biological markers and the possibility that clinical and histological features may reflect individual responses rather than distinct diseases. It reviews a classification system by the NAHRS based on inflammatory cells in biopsy specimens and an alternative approach that does not focus on these cells. The conclusion is that alopecia classification remains an ongoing effort that requires more research into the causes of these diseases.
