title: Morphological changes of the hair roots in alopecia areata: a scanning electron microscopic study.
abstract: Alopecia areata is a chronic inflammatory condition causing non-scarring patchy hair loss. Diagnosis of alopecia areata is made by clinical observations, hair pluck test and dermoscopic signs. However, because differentiation from other alopecia diseases is occasionally difficult, an invasive diagnostic method using a punch biopsy is performed. In this study, to develop a reliable, less invasive diagnostic method for alopecia areata, we performed scanning electron microscopy of the hair roots of alopecia areata patients. This study identified four patterns of hair morphology specific to alopecia areata: (I) long tapering structure with no accumulation of scales; (II) club-shaped hair root with fine scales; (III) proximal accumulation of scales; and (IV) sharp tapering of the proximal end of hair. On the basis of these results, we can distinguish alopecia areata by scanning electron microscopic observation of the proximal end of the hair shafts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume University Institute of Cutaneous Cell Biology, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karashima
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Norito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Fumitake
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Takekuni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakama
authors.forename: Teruki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dainichi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006197:Hair / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008875:Middle Aged; D012235:Rhodamines
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012235:Rhodamines; C029773:rhodamine B
keywords: alopecia areata; anagen; proximal end of the hair shaft; rhodamine; scanning electron microscopy