Clinical Approach to Focal Hairless Patch with Dermoscopy
April 2012
in “
Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology
”
female pattern hair loss FPHL folliscope herpes zoster alopecia dermoscopy alopecia areata trichotillomania tinea capitis discoid lupus erythematosus lichen planopilaris temporal triangular alopecia TTA topical Minoxidil female pattern baldness herpes zoster hair loss scalp microscope hair-pulling disorder ringworm of the scalp discoid lupus lichen planus of the scalp triangular bald patch Rogaine
TLDR Dermoscopy helps diagnose different hair loss conditions, and characteristics vary among ethnicities and individual cases.
The document presents findings from several studies on hair loss conditions. One study assessed hair density and caliber in 45 white and Asian females with female pattern hair loss (FPHL) using a folliscope. It found that white females had a significantly higher hair density on the occipital scalp, while Asian females had significantly thicker hair diameters in both frontal and occipital areas. Another case reported herpes zoster alopecia in a 7-year-old male, which resolved completely within 6 months after treatment. A third study investigated the use of dermoscopy in 142 patients with focal hairless patches, identifying characteristic dermoscopic findings for diseases such as alopecia areata, trichotillomania, tinea capitis, discoid lupus erythematosus, and lichen planopilaris, proposing a dermoscopic algorithm for diagnosis. Lastly, a clinicopathologic observation of temporal triangular alopecia (TTA) in 12 Korean patients showed that most cases were non-inflammatory and non-scarring, with only 2 out of 7 patients treated with topical Minoxidil showing mild improvement.
