Prevalence of cardiac and metabolic diseases among patients with alopecia areata

Systemic aspects of alopecia areata Comment to the article by Lai and Sinclair

“…Conditions which were more prevalent in alopecia areata compared to controls included essential hypertension (28% of patients with alopecia areata vs. 17.5% in controls), hyperlipidaemia (19.8% vs. 6.6%), obesity (18.1% vs. 3.0%), diabetes mellitus (11.4% vs. 7.4%), metabolic syndrome (1.4% vs. 0.3%), coronary artery disease (5.5% vs. 1.8%), atrial fibrillation (1.7% vs. 1.2%) and stroke (0.45% vs. 0.31%). 4 These data confirm hypotheses from studies published earlier, which showed increased expression of plasma troponin I in patients with alopecia areata. 5 and an up-regulation of several other cardiovascular risk biomarkers.…”

“…RCM is considered superior to SSSB in demodex mite detection. 4 Fluorescence-advanced videodermatoscopy (FAV) is a novel non-invasive method, for in vivo skin examination at very high magnification (5009). 5 The working principle of FAV is based on the ability of endogenous molecules to absorb the 405 nm (AE5 nm) monochromatic light emitted by the probe, and afterwards emit fluorescence.…”

Dietary Habits in Japanese Patients with Alopecia Areata

“…Several studies have reported that the prevalence of obesity is higher in patients with AA and other autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, than in the reference group. 17 , 18 Obesity is characterized by low levels of chronic inflammation, and the adipose tissues in obese subjects contain enlarged adipocytes that abundantly produce inflammatory adipokines, such as leptin, as well as excess infiltration of inflammatory M1 macrophages, IFN-γ-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and Th17 cells. In addition, the production of anti-inflammatory adipokines, such as adiponectin, M2 macrophages, and Tregs is decreased in the adipose tissues of obese subjects.…”

Adiponectin as a novel biomarker of disease severity in alopecia areata

“…However, it was described that alopecia areata might be associated with an increased risk of the development of inflammatory and metabolic comorbidities 21 . In a study performed by Conic et al 22 hyperlipidemia (19.8% vs 6.6%), obesity (18.1% vs 3.0%), diabetes mellitus (11.4% vs 7.4%) and metabolic syndrome (1.4% vs 0.3%) were more frequently reported in patients with alopecia areata compared to healthy controls. Indeed, the serum level of insulin, C-peptide and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were significantly higher in patients with alopecia areata compared to controls 23 , 24 .…”