Diffuse Scarring Alopecia in a Female Pattern Hair Loss Distribution
February 2017
in “
Australasian Journal of Dermatology
”
TLDR Scarring hair loss found in female pattern; biopsy needed for diagnosis.
The document describes three cases of diffuse scarring alopecia in a female pattern hair loss distribution, which are most consistent with cicatricial pattern hair loss (CPHL), a relatively new entity similar to fibrosing alopecia in a pattern distribution (FAPD) but lacking the clinical signs of perifollicular erythema and perifollicular keratosis seen in FAPD. The study suggests that a biopsy may be required to confirm the diagnosis of cicatricial alopecia, as there is an overlap in the spectrums of FPHL, CPHL, and female pattern androgenetic alopecia. The article includes several references for further reading on the topic.