The Association Between Number of Follicular Stelae and Severity and Treatment Response of Alopecia Areata Cases: A Retrospective Study

September 2023 in “ International Journal of Trichology ”

Güllü Gencebay, Özge Aşkın, Övgü Aydın, Server Serdaroğlu

alopecia areata follicular stelae alopecia universalis scalp hair loss

Studysummary This study found that in patients with alopecia areata, the number of follicular stelae in skin biopsies varied by clinical type and severity of the disease, but did not correlate with treatment response.

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This retrospective study investigated the relationship between the number of follicular stelae and the severity and treatment response of alopecia areata (AA) in 142 patients. The study found a statistically significant negative correlation between the severity of AA and the number of follicular stelae, with more severe cases having fewer stelae. However, there was no significant correlation between the number of follicular stelae and treatment response. Women had a higher number of follicular stelae than men, and the number of stelae varied with patient age. The study concludes that while the number of follicular stelae correlates with disease severity, it does not predict treatment response.

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