title: Dermoscopic findings in female androgenetic alopecia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Androgenetic alopecia is the most common form of hair loss. It is a clinical entity of relevant interest and presents a significant psychosocial impact as it undermines self-esteem and quality of life in female patients due to the importance of the hair for people's facial balance.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study is to evaluate dermoscopic signs in women clinically diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study with 34 women between 17 and 68 years old who were diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia. All of them underwent photographic sessions with a 10x magnification dermoscope and a digital camera zoom set to 20x magnification and 40x magnification on the scalp frontal midline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients showed miniaturization. A peripilar brown halo was found in 22 patients, honeycomb-like scalp pigmentation was found in 14 and yellow dots in only 1 patient. Recent studies show dermoscopy as the new tool for diagnosis assistance and treatment follow up in scalp disorders. Our study used an ordinary dermoscope and we evaluated several findings reported in the literature with significant clarity and easiness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The dermoscope, which is used by dermatologists on a daily basis, is an excellent tool to assist in early diagnosis and assessment of therapeutic response in androgenetic alopecia.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Ipiranga, Secretaria de Saúde do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil. lya_ramos@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Lya Duarte
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Maria Cândida Nahás
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Santili
authors.forename: Fabiane Castilho
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Maria de Fátima Maklouf Amorim
authors.initials: Mde F
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Petri
authors.forename: Marisa Teresinha
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Patriarca
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000505:Alopecia / Q000473:pathology*; D046169:Dermoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult