Distinguishing diffuse alopecia areata (AA) from pattern hair loss (PHL) using CD3+ T cells
May 2016
in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology”
TLDR CD3+ T-cell presence is a reliable marker to tell apart alopecia areata from pattern hair loss.
The study conducted biopsies on 28 cases of subacute alopecia areata (AA) and 31 cases of pattern hair loss (PHL) to determine if CD3+ T lymphocytes could be used to differentiate between the two conditions. The biopsies were processed and stained for various immune cells, including CD3+ T cells. The findings indicated that the presence of CD3+ lymphocytes within empty follicular fibrous tracts was a highly sensitive (0.964) and specific (1.000) indicator for diagnosing AA, particularly when peribulbar lymphocytes were absent. The study concluded that CD3+ T-cell presence within these tracts is a reliable histopathological marker for AA, offering a new diagnostic tool to distinguish AA from PHL. However, the study faced limitations due to the limited tissue available for analysis.
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