Concomitant Manifestation of Pili Annulati and Alopecia Areata: Coincidental Rather than True Association

Abstract

The autosomal dominantly inherited hair disorder pili annulati is characterized by alternating light and dark bands of the hair shaft. Concomitant manifestation of pili annulati with alopecia areata has been reported previously on several occasions. However, no systematic evaluation of patients manifesting both diseases has been performed. We studied the simultaneous or sequential occurrence of pili annulati and alopecia areata in individuals diagnosed in different European academic dermatology units. We included 162 Caucasian individuals from 14 extended families, comprising 76 affected and 86 unaffected family members. Statistical analysis showed that the frequency of alopecia areata among patients with pili annulati was higher than within the general population. Five of our patients with pili annulati have gone through severe episodes of alopecia areata. We cannot rule out that the currently unknown genetic defect underlying pili annulati might also confer an increased risk for the development of a more pronounced manifestation of alopecia areata. Based on the current data, and considering the low number within individual families of patients affected by both diseases, however, a direct association between pili annulati and alopecia areata seems unlikely.

Pili Annulati Coincident with Alopecia Areata, Autoimmune Thyroid Disease, and Primary IgA Deficiency: Case Report and Considerations on the Literature

“…As far as the comorbidity alopecia areata/thyroid autoimmunity is concerned, it should be underlined that the thyroid disorder detected in our case was Graves’ disease, whereas the form usually reported is Hashimoto thyroiditis [10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22], the two conditions sharing only three genetic loci out of several candidate regions identified for them [23, 24]. However, a wide-ranging comparison between our case and the literature was precluded by the lack of data about the type of thyroid involvement in most statistical studies.…”

“…Alopecia areata has been repeatedly described in patients with pili annulati, but studies performed on extended family pedigrees indicate that the two disorders are likely to occur independently of each other and thus they should be considered as coincidental, rather than associated [17, 18]. In fact, in spite of the significantly higher prevalence of alopecia areata in individuals affected by pili annulati in comparison to the general population, in none of the studied families could the concomitance of the two conditions be detected in more than one individual [18].…”

“…In fact, in spite of the significantly higher prevalence of alopecia areata in individuals affected by pili annulati in comparison to the general population, in none of the studied families could the concomitance of the two conditions be detected in more than one individual [18]. In addition, none of the known susceptibility loci for pili annulati corresponds either to the candidate region for alopecia areata detected through linkage studies or to the single nucleotide polymorphism-containing regions more recently identified through a genome-wide association study in this disorder [19, 20, 21].…”

Banded Scalp Hair with an Unusual Glistening Appearance in a Teenager: A Quiz

“…3). The abnormality is usually limited to scalp hair, but axillary, beard, and pubic hair may also be affected (1)(2)(3)(4).…”

“…The light bands result from an increased light reflex due to clusters of abnormal, air-filled cavities in the cortex, which appear to result from insufficient production of the interfibrillar matrix (2,4,5).…”