Familial frontal fibrosing alopecia report of a case and systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is an emerging disease in Western countries. We present the cases of three sisters who were referred simultaneously to the Department of Dermatology, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio, Granada, Spain, in 2018. All patients suffered from at least partial frontotemporal hairline recession and eyebrow loss. Following trichoscopic examination, the three sisters were diagnosed with FFA. Only one of the sisters agreed to be treated; she was prescribed with topical clobetasol propionate solution and minoxidil and achieved disease control at the three-month follow-up. These patients represent a new case of familial FFA wherein three sisters as well as their mother were affected by FFA. A systematic review found a total of 24 cases of familial FFA, of which this report is the 25th. In the majority of families, only females were affected (88%) while in the remainder both males and females (8%) were affected; there was only one family where only males were affected (4%). The relationship between the affected individuals was predominately between sisters (56%) followed by mother and daughter (32%). The median age was 61 years old (range: 14-88 years) and the duration of the disease ranged between 3-360 months. Family groups of FFA are an infrequently described phenomenon with unknown prevalence.