Structural hair abnormalities in ectodermal dysplasia

The hair of patients with three ectodermal dysplasias--ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia clefting syndrome (EEC); orofacial-digital syndrome (OFD) type I; and anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia syndrome (AED)--were studied by scanning electron microscopy. While no pathognomonic abnormalities were noted for each condition, hair shaft structural defects were evident in all patients studied. The EEC clefting syndrome and OFD I shared the most deforming defects, while AED had fewer.