Commentary

In 2001, Rodney D. Sinclair provided a commentary on the state of hair disease research, highlighting it as a vibrant and rapidly advancing area in dermatology. The commentary introduced a special issue that compiled research and reviews from various experts in the field. Key topics covered included the anatomy of hair structure, the role of animal models and culture methods in studying hair growth, advances in understanding genetic hair loss and alopecia areata, the genetics of androgenetic alopecia, the psychology of hair loss, hair transplant surgery, and the histological diagnosis of alopecia. David Whiting's retrospective review of 358 cases of scarring alopecia was noted as the largest series of patients with cicatricial alopecia ever collected. The issue aimed to complement existing comprehensive textbooks by focusing on recent significant advances in hair disease research.