The Relationship Between Psychological Distress And Neurotrophins In Patients With Alopecia Areata: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study investigated the relationship between neurotrophins and psychological distress in 50 patients with alopecia areata (AA) compared to 50 healthy controls. The results showed that AA patients had higher levels of psychological distress, as indicated by higher DASS-21 scores and lower DTS scores. Serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) did not differ significantly between the groups, but nerve growth factor (NGF) was higher and neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) was lower in AA patients. A significant relationship was found between BDNF and stress scores in the AA group, but not in the control group. The study suggests a link between AA, psychological factors, and neurotrophins, highlighting the need for further research into the neuroimmunology of stress and AA.