Brittle nail syndrome

Abstract

Brittle nail syndrome is a common condition, characterized by increased fragility of the nail plates. It affects almost 20% of the population, being more usual in women. Clinical manifestations of brittle nails are onychoschizia and onychorexis - disorders of intercellular adhesive factors are expressed as the first, while disorders of the nail matrix manifest as onychorexis. Despite being so common and causing much more than only cosmetic problems to the patient, the treatment of brittle nails has had little improvement over the past decades and is still mainly based on the daily use of biotin. ©2007 by Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia.