Role of Dermoscopy in the Diagnosis of Alopecia
December 2018
in “
Journal of Pakistan Association of Dermatology
”
dermoscopy alopecia androgenetic alopecia AGA brown peripilar sign yellow dots focal atrichia scalp honeycomb pigmentation red dots cicatricial alopecia white perifollicular scaling lichen planopilaris pili bifurcati alopecia areata hair loss male pattern baldness female pattern baldness scalp pigmentation hair regrowth
TLDR Dermoscopy is useful for diagnosing different types of hair loss.
The document from December 2018 evaluated the effectiveness of dermoscopy in diagnosing different types of alopecia in 100 patients. Dermoscopic findings were specific to each type of alopecia, with hair diameter diversity being a universal sign in androgenetic alopecia (AGA) cases. The study found that 71% of male AGA and 22% of female AGA patients showed the brown peripilar sign, while yellow dots were present in 18% of male AGA patients. Focal atrichia was observed in 71% of male AGA and 22% of female AGA patients, and scalp honeycomb pigmentation was noted in 42% of male AGA and 33% of female AGA patients. Red dots were identified as a positive prognostic factor for hair regrowth in cicatricial alopecia, and white perifollicular scaling was characteristic of lichen planopilaris. The study concluded that dermoscopy is a valuable tool for diagnosing alopecia and highlighted the need for further research on certain dermoscopic findings, such as pili bifurcati in alopecia areata.