Celiac disease and alopecia areata in a child with Down's syndrome

According to recent reports in the literature, there seems to be an association between alopecia areata and celiac disease. The present author describes a 9-year-old girl with Down's syndrome, and alopecia areata, and documented celiac disease, who displayed a normal growth of hair after a gluten-free diet. Given the high prevalence of these two diseases in patients with Down's syndrome, the present author recommends both serological screening for celiac disease in every individual with Down's syndrome, and in particular, the inclusion of such screening in any diagnostic work-up for alopecia areata.