Hair Anomalies in a 6-Year-Old Girl
January 2016
in “
Case reports in clinical medicine
”
TLDR A 6-year-old girl was diagnosed with a rare hair disorder called monilethrix.
A 6-year-old girl presented with increasing alopecia, characterized by short, fragile, and brittle hair, diagnosed as monilethrix, an autosomal dominant inherited hair shaft disorder. The condition, which has a family history spanning four generations, showed beaded hair under light microscopy. No treatment was initiated, but the patient was advised to avoid hair trauma. Monilethrix is caused by mutations in keratin genes and can vary widely in clinical presentation, from mild to severe cases affecting the entire body hair. There is no definitive treatment, though some hormonal influences and treatments like retinoids, N-acetylcysteine, and minoxidil have shown moderate success.
