87 - Alopecia Areata Flashcards
Y/N: Alopecia areata is the most common cause of abrupt-onset hair loss, but occurs less often than androgenetic alopecia or telogen effluvium
Yes
Most common form of alopecia seen in children
Alopecia areata
Of patients suffering from alopecia areata, _____% develop hair loss of their entire scalp hair (alopecia areata totalis) and _____% develop alopecia areata universalis (loss of total body hair)
5
1
Characterisitic hallmarks of alopecia areata are so-called _____, resulting from hair that breaks off by the time it reaches the skin surface. _____, which have a blunt distal end and taper proximally, appear when the broken hairs are pushed out of the follicle
Black dots (cadaver hairs, point noir) Exclamation point hairs
Alopecia areata has been described in association with a variety of other disorders
Cataracts Thyroid disease Vitiligo Atopic dermatitis Psoriasis Cronkhite-Canada Down syndrome
Main drivers of disease pathogenesis in alopecia areata
Cytotoxic CD8 T cells
Interferon-gamma
Many patients report the experience of _____ prior to the onset of alopecia
Major emotional stress
Dermoscopic findings in alopecia areata
Follicular ostia
Exclamation point hair
Cadaver hair
Yellow dots
White hairs are sometimes spared by the disease. This can lead to _____, a sudden whitening of the hair
Canities subita
Laboratory tests should be performed to rule out
Thyroid dysfunction
Iron or vitamin deficiencies
Scalp biopsy of alopecia areata reveals
Generalized miniaturization
Marked increase in catagen and telogen hair follicles
Peribulbar immune infiltrate (“swarm of bees”)
Poor prognosis of alopecia areata linked to
Involvement of the occiput and/or hairline
Chronic relapsing course
Presence of nail changes
Onset in childhood
First-line therapy for adult patients with less than 50% scalp involvement
Intralesional corticosteroids
Have been studied for their use in the treatment of alopecia areata of eyelashes and eyebrows
Prostaglandin analogs:
Latanoprost
Bimatoprost
Irritant that may have a nonspecific immunomodulating effect (anti-Langerhans cell) and is usually used in the treatment of psoriasis
Anthralin
