Serum Zinc Level in Telogen Effluvium Patients

The research paper "Serum Zinc level in Telogen Effluvium Patients" is a case-control study involving 25 patients with Telogen Effluvium (TE), a type of hair loss, and 20 healthy individuals. The study aimed to determine the zinc concentration in the serum of TE patients, as zinc is a crucial cofactor for over 300 hair follicle enzymes. However, the study found no significant difference in serum zinc levels between the TE patients and the healthy control group. TE is characterized by diffuse hair loss, often affecting less than 50% of hair, and is usually triggered by stressors such as trauma, medications, endocrine disorders, and nutritional deficiencies. The pathomechanism of TE is typically an aberrant shift in follicular cycling, leading to an increase in the number of hair follicles susceptible to falling out.