Distinctive Age Distribution and Hair Loss Pattern Highlighting Uniqueness of Japanese Cases of Fibrosing Alopecia in a Pattern Distribution

The study "Distinctive age distribution and hair loss pattern putatively highlighting uniqueness of Japanese cases of fibrosing alopecia in a pattern distribution" analyzed 24 Japanese cases of Fibrosing Alopecia in a Pattern Distribution (FAPD), a unique hair loss condition that presents characteristics of both androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and lichen planopilaris (LPP). The study included 17 women and 7 men. All male patients had disease onset by their early 30s, while most female patients developed the condition in middle age or later. The study found that these patients tended to manifest hair loss in both vertex and frontal to mid-scalp with minimal regression of anterior hairline, a unique "parachute" pattern. Anti-inflammatory therapies were found to be effective in deterring hair loss but insufficient to achieve improvement. The study concluded that these findings may provide additional pathophysiological insights into FAPD and highlight the uniqueness of the etiology and clinical phenotype of Japanese FAPD, potentially influenced by racial predispositions.