Alopecia Areata With an FFA-Like Phenotype: Clinicopathologic Features and Treatment Outcomes in a Prospective Cohort - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #alopecia areata
- #treatment outcomes
- #frontal fibrosing alopecia
- Study describes a frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA)-like phenotype within alopecia areata (AA), characterized by frontotemporal hairline recession with isolated single hairs.
- Prospective cohort included 56 patients; majority female, mean age 30.4 years, mean disease duration 6.5 years.
- Trichoscopy showed predominance of 1-hair follicular units at hairline; histopathology revealed non-scarring features with preserved pilosebaceous units and increased telogen follicles.
- Treatment outcomes showed limited improvement: median SALT score change was 0% at 3 months and 18.4% at 6 months; only 20% achieved significant improvement at last follow-up.
- Matched analysis indicated lower 3-month response to systemic corticosteroids compared to patchy AA (5.9% vs. 76.5%), suggesting an insidious, chronic course with poor treatment response.