Post-menopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia

Abstract

Post-menopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia is a distinctive form of alopecia associated with progressive hairline recession that is permanent and seen particularly in elderly women. Skin biopsies of the receding hairline reveal a lymphocyte-mediated follicular destruction identical to that seen with lichen planopilaris. This unusual alopecia may hold the key to understanding the complex relationship of pattern alopecia, sex-related differences in pattern alopecia and the triggers for autoimmune follicular destruction that may be unveiled with senescence. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.