1,721,067 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Androgenetic alopecia in children: report of 20 cases.
No full textAndrogenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of hair loss in adults. Although there are differences in the age at onset, the disease starts after puberty when enough testosterone is available to be transformed into dihydrotestosterone. We report 20 prepubertal children with AGA, 12 girls and eight boys, age range 6-10 years, observed over the last 4 years. All had normal physical development. Clinical examination showed hair loss with thinning and widening of the central parting of the scalp, both in boys and girls. In eight cases frontal accentuation and breach of frontal hairline were also present. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by pull test, trichogram and dermoscopy in all cases, and by scalp biopsy performed in six cases. There was a strong family history of AGA in all patients. The onset of AGA is not expected to be seen in prepubertal patients without abnormal androgen levels. A common feature observed in our series of children with AGA was a strong genetic predisposition to the disease. Although the pathogenesis remains speculative, endocrine evaluation and a strict follow-up are strongly recommended
Recommended from our members
New fungal nail infections.
No full textURPOSE OF REVIEW: The number of people affected by onychomycosis continues to increase. The prevalence of different pathogens in different areas depends on several factors, such as climate, geography and migration. We reviewed the recent literature to identify new agents responsible for onychomycosis. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies performed in different countries are not only reporting molds and yeasts as contaminants, but are increasingly reporting them as pathogens. Infection by novel agents is also being reported, although the individual cases do not necessarily indicate that these are emerging agents. SUMMARY: Clinicians should bear in mind the increased number of case series reporting the role of molds and yeasts in onychomycosis, and should not treat the disease without first examining the mycology results. The question remains as to whether these agents are truly new fungi responsible for onychomycosis, or whether improvement of diagnostic techniques and increasing reference to such species in the literature has resulted in better identification of such agents
Recommended from our members
Drug-Induced Nail Abnormalities
No full textThis article reviews the different nail symptoms produced by drugs. Drug-induced nail abnormalities may result from toxicity to the matrix, the nail bed or the periungual tissues. The most common symptoms include Beau’s lines/onychomadesis, melanonychia, onycholysis, and periungual pyogenic granulomas. Nail changes usually affect several nails and in most cases are asymptomatic. Drugs that most frequently produce nail abnormalities include retinoids, indinavir, and cancer chemotherapeutic agents. In this article, we also include nail adverse effects as a result of radiotherapy since they are commonly observed in clinical practice
Recommended from our members
The nail in systemic diseases.
No full textAlthough abnormalities of the nails have been reported in different systemic disorders,most of these abnormalities are nonspecific. This article reports and discusses only those nail signs that provide the clinician with clues for the diagnosis of systemic disorders
Recommended from our members
Drug-induced nail diseases.
No full textAlthough many nail disorders have been associated with drug intake, most reports are anecdotal. Most nail changes caused by drugs are the outcome of acute toxicity to the nail epithelia; nail symptoms depend on which nail structure is damaged. The most com-mon symptoms include Beau's lines/onychomadesis, melanonychia, onycholysis, and periungual pyogenic granulomas. Drug-induced nail abnormalities are usually transitory and disappear with drug withdrawal, but sometimes persist over time. This article reviews drugs that have been consistently associated with nail abnormalities
The disappearing nail bed: a possible outcome of onycholysis
No full textDistal onycholysis results from separation of the nail plate from the underlying supporting structures and in most cases is a consequence of pathological conditions that affect the hyponichium1
It is a commonly seen disorder. It may have many causes some of which are infectious, contact irritant, dermatological, traumatic, systemic disease, drug, neoplastic, inherited, etc.1 It is usually asymptomatic, and it is generally the appearance of the nail that leads the patient to consult a dermatologist.
We have observed a number of cases of onycholysis, usually of the great toenail, but occasionally of the thumb and index finger nail, in which the distal nail bed appeared to shrink. That area becomes apparently cornified and produced dermatoglyphics like the normal tip of a digit.1,2 This may explain why it is difficult to promote reattachment. It is generally assumed that the longer the disorder has been present, the less likely that it is to resolve 1-6 , but chronicity of onycholysis has never been specifically quantified or defined
Recommended from our members
Frontal fibrosing alopecia in postmenopausal women
No full textBACKGROUND: Frontal fibrosing alopecia is a variety of cicatricial alopecia characterized by a band of frontal/frontoparietal hair recession and marked decrease or a complete loss of the eyebrows, typically observed in women who are postmenopausal. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to report clinical and histopathologic findings and results of treatment in a group of women affected by the disease. METHOD: A total of 14 women with alopecia of the frontal hairline were evaluated from June 2000 through July 2003 in our outpatient consultation for hair disorders. RESULTS: Clinical examination revealed a band of symmetric recession of the frontoparietal hairline extending to the preauricular areas associated with loss of follicular orifices, mild skin atrophy, and perifollicular erythema at the scalp margin. In all, 9 patients also had partial or total loss of the eyebrows. The histologic features of the scalp specimens were similar in all our patients with a reduction of the number of hair follicles, and a high number of intermediate and velluslike follicles. Intemediate and velluslike follicles were more commonly affected than terminal follicles by the lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate and perifollicular fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Frontal fibrosing alopecia is a cicatricial alopecia that follows destruction of hair follicles by an inflammatory lymphocytic infiltrate that is localized around the upper portion of the hair follicle. It differs from lichen planopilaris because the lymphocytic infiltrate and fibrosis affect selectively the intermediate and the velluslike follicles of the frontal margin and eyebrows. The reason for this selective involvement is still unknown. Frontal fibrosing alopecia may represent a variety of lichen planopilaris with selective involvement of certain androgen-dependent areas. The affected follicles may have typical biologic markers that could explain the clinical and histologic features found in the disease. It is interesting to note that some of the patients treated with finasteride (2.5 mg/d) showed an arrest in the progression of the disease. Even if there is no proof for a hormonal basis of the disease, the effectiveness of finasteride in some patients may indicate that androgens might be partially responsible of the pathogenesis of the disease
- …
