TY - JOUR
T1 - Lipedematous alopecia of the scalp
AU - Piraccini, Bianca Maria
AU - Voudouris, Stylianos
AU - Pazzaglia, Massimiliano
AU - Rech, Giulia
AU - Vicenzi, Colombina
AU - Tosti, Antonella
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - Lipedematous scalp is a rare disorder, mainly described in adult African-American females. We report 2 adult caucasian males with lipedematous scalp associated with androgenetic alopecia. Patients were studied by dermoscopy and histopathology; they were treated with finasteride 1 mg. In our patients, lipedematous scalp affected the occipital and the vertex areas and pathologically exhibited mild edema and thickening of the adipose subcutaneous layer. At videodermoscopy, lipedematous scalp areas showed linear areas of teleangiectasia within the scalp creases, possibly caused by compression of the superficial blood capillaries by the increased volume of the subcutaneous fat layer within the thickened scalp. Finasteride at a dose of 1 mg per day for 1 year induced mild improvement of androgenetic alopecia in one patient and stabilization of the disease in the other. The lipedematous scalps remain unchanged. Lipedematous scalp is apparently a rare disease even though the condition is probably underdiagnosed. As a matter of fact, we diagnosed lipedematous scalp in our patients during a clinical examination for androgenetic alopecia, which was the patients' complaint. The association of lipedematous scalp and androgenetic alopecia in our two patients appears to be coincidental.
AB - Lipedematous scalp is a rare disorder, mainly described in adult African-American females. We report 2 adult caucasian males with lipedematous scalp associated with androgenetic alopecia. Patients were studied by dermoscopy and histopathology; they were treated with finasteride 1 mg. In our patients, lipedematous scalp affected the occipital and the vertex areas and pathologically exhibited mild edema and thickening of the adipose subcutaneous layer. At videodermoscopy, lipedematous scalp areas showed linear areas of teleangiectasia within the scalp creases, possibly caused by compression of the superficial blood capillaries by the increased volume of the subcutaneous fat layer within the thickened scalp. Finasteride at a dose of 1 mg per day for 1 year induced mild improvement of androgenetic alopecia in one patient and stabilization of the disease in the other. The lipedematous scalps remain unchanged. Lipedematous scalp is apparently a rare disease even though the condition is probably underdiagnosed. As a matter of fact, we diagnosed lipedematous scalp in our patients during a clinical examination for androgenetic alopecia, which was the patients' complaint. The association of lipedematous scalp and androgenetic alopecia in our two patients appears to be coincidental.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 16638399
AN - SCOPUS:33846536243
VL - 12
JO - Dermatology Online Journal
JF - Dermatology Online Journal
SN - 1087-2108
IS - 2
M1 - 6
ER -