title: Isolated eyebrow and eyelash trichotillomania mimicking alopecia areata.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Isolated Trichotillomania (TM) of the eyebrows and eyelashes is occasionally seen and may be mistaken for alopecia areata (AA).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The clinical study of the patients with isolated eyebrows and eyelashes alopecia suggesting of TM.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven children and young adult patients who referred with recalcitrant eyebrows and eyelashes alopecia were diagnosed as TM based on the clinical criteria for TM. The hair specifications for TM were include: hairs are broken at different levels, they may be tufted, tortuous and some hair fibers may be abnormally longer than others. The hair follicles may be prominent. The patients and their parents studied for psychopathology using a semistructured interview based on the Diagnostic Statistical manual of Psychiatric disorders (DSM-1V) and maudsley inventory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our clinical study, interview with the patients and their parents and the clinical criteria used to differentiate TM from AA all support the clinical diagnosis of TM. The patients and their parents mainly suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCSDs).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TM as a hair pulling habit in patients with underlying psychopathology can be considered in cases with isolated eyebrows and eyelashes alopecia when the hair are broken at different levels. And they may be malaligned, nonuniform, tortuous, and tufted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Jondishapour University of Medical Sciences, Ahwaz, Iran. radmanesh_m@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radmanesh
authors.forename: Sedigheh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shafiei
authors.forename: Amir H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Naderi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000505:Alopecia / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005138:Eyebrows / Q000473:pathology; D005140:Eyelashes / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D014256:Trichotillomania / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology