Lipedematous Alopecia of the Scalp
January 2006
in “
Dermatology Online Journal
”
New to Finasteride? There is a guide in the encyclopedia. Read the guide → Studysummary This study observed that finasteride treatment induced mild improvement in androgenetic alopecia in one male patient while stabilizing the condition in another, but lipedematous scalp remained unchanged.
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The study reported on two adult Caucasian males with lipedematous scalp, a rare condition characterized by thickening of the scalp, associated with androgenetic alopecia. This condition was previously mainly described in African-American females. The patients exhibited scalp thickening in the occipital and vertex areas, with dermoscopy revealing telangiectasia due to compression of blood capillaries by the thickened subcutaneous fat layer. Treatment with finasteride 1 mg/day for 1 year resulted in mild improvement of androgenetic alopecia in one patient and stabilization in the other, but did not change the lipedematous scalp condition. The study suggested that the association of lipedematous scalp with androgenetic alopecia was coincidental, and the condition might be underdiagnosed.
