Investigate the Role of Zinc and Ferritin in Iraqi Patients With Alopecia Areata

The study "Investigate the role of Zinc and Ferritin in Iraqi patients with alopecia areata" involved 40 patients with alopecia areata (AA) and 65 healthy controls. The research found that in 75% of the patients, only the scalp was affected by the disease, while 25% had mixed lesions. Single and multiple lesions were reported in 42.5% and 57.5% of the patients respectively. The median serum level of ferritin in patients was 23.0 μg/L, lower than the control group's median of 27.0 μg/L. Similarly, the median serum level of zinc was 59.5 μg/dl in patients, lower than the control group's median of 71.5 μg/dl. There was a significant positive correlation between zinc level and age, and a negative correlation with lesion size. The study concluded that multiple lesions in the scalp are the most common presentation of AA, and low levels of ferritin and/or zinc could be involved in the pathogenesis of AA and increase the risk of disease severity.