Alopecia areata: More on Pathogenesis and Therapy

Therapy of alopecia areata with diphencyprone

“…'^ attributed their markedly lower response rate of 42% to the fact that only patients with a long disease duration (average 19-9 years) were recruited. In our group only five out of 18 patients with a total disease duration of more than 10 years responded to treatment, in comparison with 10 of 17 patients with a disease duration of less than 1 year, 3…”

Alopecia Areata in Aging C3H/HeJ Mice

“…Microscopically, those treated with phosphate buffered saline had mononuclear cell infiltrates in and around anagen follicles, typical of the untreated disease (Fig 8a). In contrast, mice injected with steroids had either normal, uninvolved telogen follicles or biopsies containing anagen follicles with few, if any, inflammatory cell infiltrates, indicative of a positive response ( Fig DISCUSSION These studies show that both clinically and pathologically the C3H/HeJ mice have a non-scarring alopecia with follicular involvement that most closely resembles the human disease alopecia areata [1][2][3][4][5] and the non-scarring, perifollicular inflammatory alopecia seen in the DEBR rat [8][9][10], In numerous studies in normal mice and many other mouse mutations with abnormalities of hair anagen and telogen follicles, consistent findings of mononuclear or lymphohistocytic perifollicular and interfoUicular infiltrates are rarely observed [14,29] but are seen in some breeds of horses, dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, and human alopecia areata [1,6,7], A variety of bacterial and mycotic agents are well-known causes of foUicular and perifollicular inflammation, which must be eliminated as factors in the pathogenesis of alopecia in aging C3H/HeJ mice. Many of the production colonies at The Jackson Laboratory were established by Cesearian derivation and are housed in strict quarantine to maintain their specific pathogen-free status.…”

“…J Invest Dermatol 102: [847][848][849][850][851][852][853][854][855][856]1994 A lopecia areata (AA) is a common disease of human beings that is characterized by acute onset of focal, diffuse, or both forms of alopecia. The histologic features consist of a dystrophic anagen or telogen follicle, usually accompanied by a mononuclear cell infiltrate in and around hair follicles, but usually without scarring [1][2][3][4][5]. The mechanisms involved in induction of alopecia areata, changes in coloration of hairs, and regrowth (if it occurs) are poorly understood.…”

Simultaneously occurring alopecia areata and Hodgkin's lymphoma: Complete remission of both diseases with MOPP/ABV chemotherapy

“…The association with autoimmune diseases, including thyroid disease [lo], vitiligo [ I I], myasthenia gravis [ 1 I], ulcerative colitis [ 111, and lupus erythematosus [ 121, has been reported. It is believed that an autoimmune mechanism plays a role in the pathogenesis of this disease [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”