Efficacy of Methotrexate Alone vs Methotrexate Plus Low-Dose Prednisone in Patients With Alopecia Areata Totalis or Universalis: A 2-Step Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Poor therapeutic results have been reported in patients with alopecia areata totalis (AT) or universalis (AU), the most severe and disabling types of alopecia areata (AA). Methotrexate, an inexpensive treatment, might be effective in AU and AT.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of methotrexate alone or combined with low-dose prednisone in patients with chronic and recalcitrant AT and AU.

Folliculitis decalvans is characterized by a persistent, abnormal subepidermal microbiota.

Folliculitis decalvans (FD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown aetiology. Although Staphylococcus aureus, frequently found on lesional skin, is thought to play a causal role, the importance of its involvement remains controversial. To examine the role of S aureus, we compared superficial and subepidermal microbiota in 20 FD patients who had S aureus on lesional skin and in 20 healthy controls using culture techniques and genomic identification, before and after an anti-staphylococcal treatment; we also screened for S aureus virulence factors.

[Alopecia areata].

Alopecia areata. Alopecia areata is a common T-cell mediated autoimmune disease affecting hair and nails. It is a non-scarring form of alopecia, commonly patchy, but it may cover the whole scalp and even body hair.

Syringotropic mycosis fungoides: clinical and histologic features, response to treatment, and outcome in 19 patients.

Background: A rare variant of mycosis fungoides (MF), syringotropic MF (STMF) is characterized by a particular tropism of the lymphocytic infiltrate for the eccrine structures, and included in the follicular subtype of MF in the World Health Organization-European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer classification of cutaneous lymphomas.

Objective: We sought to determine the clinicopathologic features and disease course of patients with STMF.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to identify patients with STMF from 1998 to 2013.

A hairy paradox: congenital triangular alopecia with a central hair tuft.

Congenital triangular alopecia (CTA) is a developmental anomaly characterized by a bald patch involving the temporal region on one or, more rarely, both sides. We report 5 patients with CTA showing a central island of short hair that was categorized as terminal hair both macroscopically and microscopically. The cause of this paradoxical phenomenon is unknown.

Lichen planopilaris: update on diagnosis and treatment.

Lichen planopilaris (LPP), a follicular form of lichen planus, is a rare inflammatory lymphocyte mediated disorder. Although the physiopathology is unclear, an autoimmune etiology is generally accepted. Women are affected more than men, and the typical age of onset is between 40 and 60 years.