Morphological Characteristics of Epidermis and Dermis in Patients with Diffuse Alopecia, Androgenetic Alopecia, and Alopecia Areata
April 2018
in “
Rossiiskii Zhurnal Kozhnykh i Venericheskikh Boleznei
”
TLDR All types of alopecia involve hair follicle damage, especially in alopecia areata.
The study investigated the morphological characteristics of the epidermis and dermis in 25 patients with different types of alopecia: androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, and diffuse alopecia. It found that all types were associated with hair follicle destruction, most notably in alopecia areata, due to lymphohistiocytic infiltrates and sclerotic changes in the dermis. Additionally, there was an increase in the thickness of the basal layer of the epidermis, indicating reduced mitotic activity of basal keratinocytes, especially in diffuse alopecia. Changes in the epidermis were secondary to dermal alterations.