Tinea capitis in adults

Scalp ringworm is unusual after puberty. Etiological, epidemiological and clinical data regarding cases of tinea capitis in the elderly observed over a period of 15 years are discussed and some explanations are given for the conditions which favoured the mycotic infection of the scalp in adults. This study underlines that tinea capitis in the elderly is usually characterized by very variable and often atypical lesions and that female preponderance in adult cases of scalp ringworm is striking and unexplained. Moreover, all the dermatophytes we isolated from scalp lesions in children can cause tinea capitis in adults.