Infiltration of Mast Cells in Scalp Biopsies of Patients with Alopecia Areata or Androgenic Alopecia Versus Healthy Individuals: A Case-Control Study
December 2020
in “
Galen Medical Journal
”
TLDR People with Alopecia Areata and Androgenic Alopecia have more mast cells in their scalp than healthy individuals, especially those with Alopecia Areata.
In a study conducted by Soheila Nasiri, Alireza Salehi, and Azadeh Rakhshan in 2020, they examined the presence of mast cells in scalp biopsies of patients with Alopecia Areata (AA) and Androgenic Alopecia (AGA) compared to healthy individuals. The study involved 60 subjects divided into three groups: AA, AGA, and a healthy control group, each consisting of 20 subjects. The results showed significantly higher perifollicular and perivascular mast cell counts in both AGA and AA groups compared to the healthy control group. Furthermore, AA patients had more frequent perivascular mast cells than the AGA group. The study also found that the increase in mast cell counts was age and severity dependent. In conclusion, the study found a significant increase in mast cell infiltration in AA and AGA patients, with the increase being more dominant in AA patients.
