Use of the TrichoScan to assess female pattern hair loss.
BACKGROUND
TrichoScan is a method of hair growth measurement that combines epiluminescence microscopy with automatic digital image analysis. Miniaturization is considered a cornerstone of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and is requisite for establishing the diagnosis.


OBJECTIVE
To examine miniaturization in women with AGA.


METHODS
Twenty-eight women with Ludwig pattern (aged 21-68, mean 46) were included. Miniaturization was estimated using the TrichoScan method.


RESULTS
Almost one-quarter (21.4%) of the women had miniaturized hair only on the top of the head (the crown), 28.6% had miniaturized hair throughout the scalp, and 50.0% showed no miniaturization but a preponderance of thinning in the crown area. In all patients, a comparative study of hair diameter revealed significant differences between the crown and the occipital region.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results imply that, in female hair loss, miniaturization might be a relative and not an absolute measurement, and AGA in women could be diagnosed also in the presence of a difference in hair shaft diameter.
Riedel-Baima
Bozena
B
Sana Health Centre (Sana Gesundheitszentrum Berlin), Berlin, Germany. riedel-baima@gmx.de
Riedel
Alexander
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000505:Alopecia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D046169:Dermoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult