Nailfold Capillaroscopy Alterations in Androgenetic Alopecia: A Cross-Sectional Study
December 2021
in “
Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology
”
androgenetic alopecia microcirculation nailfold capillaroscopy avascular areas dilated capillaries bushy capillaries bizarre capillaries capillary disorganization hypoxia systemic inflammation oxidative stress male pattern baldness blood flow capillary examination lack of blood vessels enlarged capillaries abnormal capillaries oxygen deficiency body-wide inflammation cell damage
TLDR Men with androgenetic alopecia, or hair loss, often have abnormal blood flow in their small blood vessels, which might be linked to inflammation and stress.
The study involved 78 male patients with androgenetic alopecia and 78 healthy male controls, using nailfold capillaroscopy to examine microcirculation. The results showed that abnormalities such as avascular areas, dilated, bushy and bizarre capillaries, and capillary disorganization were significantly more frequent in patients with androgenetic alopecia. This suggests that microcirculation abnormalities may be involved in androgenetic alopecia. The study also found that changes indicative of hypoxia are more common in these patients, despite having a normal mean capillary density, possibly associated with systemic inflammation related to oxidative stress. However, the results may be biased due to the limited sample size and the presence of undiagnosed diseases in participants.
