Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia in Asians: A Retrospective Clinical Study

The retrospective clinical study by Suchonwanit et al. investigated Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) in 56 Thai patients, predominantly female (96.4%), with an average age of onset at 51.3 years. The study found that all patients had frontotemporal hairline recession, and a significant majority (87.5%) also suffered from eyebrow loss. Trichoscopic examination of 35 patients revealed common signs such as follicular dropout, perifollicular erythema, and lonely hair. The most effective treatment for disease stabilization was a combination of topical corticosteroids with hydroxychloroquine (79.3% stabilization) or finasteride (73.3% stabilization). The study suggested that FFA in Asians has mixed clinical patterns and that environmental factors and personal care products might contribute to the condition. It also highlighted the effectiveness of combination therapy in managing FFA, despite the study's limitations, including its retrospective design, single-center approach, and lack of a control group.