SCARRING ALOPECIA HAIR LOSS

When inflamation of the hair folicles occurs due to infection it can lead to scarring alopecia. It is easy to indentify a case of severe scarring alopecia because there will be rough patches on the surface of the scalp made up of small blood vessels and connective tissue. Scarring alopecia can have many causes some of these causes and different types of scarring alopecia are discussed below.

Scarring Alopecia caused by Discoid Lupus Erythematosus

Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE) is a diffuse connective tissue disease which can result in hair loss on the scalp. In DLE lesions occur around scaling papules 5-10 mm across with follicular plugging. There may or may not be scaling. Eventually the skin becomes smooth, atrophic and scarred. Lupus is a photosensitive disease therefore exposure to sunlight should be minimised.

Follicular Degeneration Syndrome (Traction Alopecia and Scarring Alopecia)

Follicular Degeneration Syndrome (FDS) goes under a variety of names including 'central progressive alopecia' and 'hot comb alopecia'.

Hot comb alopecia was first identified in African-American women and thought to be due to the overuse of hot combs and oil pomades. It was thought that oils applied to the hair were heated up by the hot comb and liquified. The liquid oil then dribbled down the hair fibre into the hair follicle opening and irritating the skin causing inflammation around the upper hair follicle. However, it is now known that, while hot combing might elicit the condition in some individuals, it can also occur in the absence of any cosmetic procedure. With this discovery the condition has been renamed Follicular Degeneration Syndrome.

It is a form of scarring alopecia which is most often first visible as a well defined patch of diffused hair loss. The affected region usually, although not always, extends centrifugally from the scalp vertex. The affected region may slowly expand in size with time. Skin biopsies show that the condition involves inflammation of the affected hair follicles and premature desquamation of the hair follicle inner root sheath.

Usually treatment focuses on removing the hair follicle inflammation using topical corticosteriods or intradermal corticosteriod injection. No reliable or proven treatment is known.

There can be many reasons for hair loss please click on the links below to read about hair loss causes.

Celiac Disease associated Alopecia Hair Loss	Psoriasis Hair Loss
Diffuse Hair Loss	Scalp Ring Worm Hair Loss
Female Pattern Hair Loss (Androgenic Alopecia)	Scarring Alopecia Hair Loss
Folliculitis Decalvans Hair Loss	Scleroderma Hair Loss
Folliculitis Hair Loss	Seborrhoeic Dermatitus / Eczema Hair Loss
Lichen Planopilaris Hair Loss	Telogen Effluvium Hair Loss
Lichen Planus Hair Loss	Trichotillomania Hair Loss
Lupus Hair Loss