The Spotted Lunula: Three Patients with Alopecia Areata Exhibited Spotty Absence of Whiteness in the Lunulae of Their Nails
May 1980
in “
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
”
New to Alopecia Areata? There is a guide in the encyclopedia. Read the guide → Studysummary In this study, three patients with alopecia areata exhibited spotty absence of the whiteness of their nail lunulae, potentially due to defects in the matrical epithelium. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The document described three patients with alopecia areata who exhibited a spotty absence of the whiteness of the lunulae in their nails. This phenomenon was attributed to defects in the tongue of matrical epithelium beneath the nail plate, which is responsible for the lunula. The study drew an analogy with Wickham's striae, suggesting a similar underlying mechanism.
