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Soft, spongy or doughy consistency of the scalp resulting from thickening of the subcutaneous layer is termed as lipedematous scalp (LS). When such soft, boggy scalp is associated with hair loss, where the scalp hair is no longer than a few centimeters, it is referred as lipedematous alopecia (LA). There have been coincidental reports of androgenetic alopecia, psoriasis, mucinosis, and discoid lupus erythematosus with LS. We report a case of LS and alopecia areata whose characteristic histopathological feature showed a “swarm of bees” appearance and thickening of subcutaneous tissue. The diagnosis of alopecia areata was further confirmed by immunohistochemistry staining of the tissue showing CD3+ T-lymphocytes around the bulb. The aim of this case report is to make readers understand that LA and LS are not different diseases and one needs to rule out other causes of alopecia in order to pick up conditions which are essentially reversible and treatable.

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Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common form of hair loss in men and women. Although female pattern hair loss (FPHL) and male AGA share a final common pathway that causes follicular regression but current knowledge suggests that the etiology is not necessarily the same in both sexes. There are many known and unknown factors that govern the development of AGA. We aim to review recent advances in the pathophysiology and molecular mechanism of pattern hair loss in males, females, and children.

Summary Background Recurrent bleeding episodes are often a cause of significant anxiety in patients with pyogenic granuloma (PG). The idea of using common salt for the treatment of PG arose from the need for a relatively safe and effective treatment because of the recurrent nature of the lesion. Methods A prospective open‐label uncontrolled study of 50 patients was conducted. All cases were treated with ordinary table salt from a commercially available package. White soft paraffin was first applied over the perilesional skin, then sufficient salt to cover the entire lesion was applied and the area was occluded with surgical adhesive tape. All patients were followed up for any complications or recurrence. Results Complete resolution of the lesion without any residual scar was seen in 100% of the cases, and 94% reported a decrease in the bleeding tendency of the lesion as an immediate response. The mean time to complete resolution was 14.77 days. Recurrence was noted in one patient after 11 months of resolution. Conclusion Owing to the relative ease in application, lack of scarring and excellent response, we consider salt application to be an ideal treatment for PG lesions, especially in children and anxious patients reluctant to undergo any procedure.

The clinical application of transdermal delivery has been limited to lipophilic drugs with a molecular weight of less than 500 Da. The development of polymeric microneedles enabled the transdermal delivery of larger proteins and drugs. Extensive research has been conducted on the molecular size, solubility, pH, concentration, and polarity of transdermal delivery; however, the maximal molecular weight for transdermal microneedle delivery has not been established. Clinicians often use simple microneedles to deliver high molecular weight growth factors of platelet‐rich plasma across the skin; thus, we set out to explore the feasibility of delivering growth factors through microneedling. In this communication, we present histological evidence that microneedling do not enhance transdermal delivery of growth factors and thus provide no clinical benefit.

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