Nonscarring alopecia in systemic lupus erythematosus: A cross-sectional study with trichoscopic, histopathologic, and...

Nonscarring alopecia in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is widely recognized, but reports on its clinical, trichoscopic, histopathologic, and direct immunofluorescence (DIF) features are still limited.

To summarize the different clinical patterns, trichoscopic, histopathologic, and DIF features of nonscarring alopecia in SLE and to prove its association with disease activity.

Patients with SLE with and without nonscarring alopecia had full physical/trichoscopic examination and scalp biopsy. Their disease activity scores and laboratory data were evaluated and statistically analyzed.

Thirty-two patients with SLE had different patterns of nonscarring alopecia, including mild diffuse alopecia (43.8% [n = 14]), severe diffuse alopecia (15.6% [n = 5]), patchy alopecia (28.1% [n = 9]), and lupus hair (12.5% [n = 4]). The most common trichoscopic findings were arborizing/interconnecting vessels (83% [n = 26]). Histopathologic examination showed interface changes along the dermoepidermal junction (87.5% [n = 28]) and follicular epithelium (40.6% [n = 13]). On DIF, homogeneous granular deposition was detected along the dermoepidermal junction (78.1% [n = 25]) and follicular epithelium (78.1% [n = 25]). When compared with 10 patients with SLE without alopecia, there was a significantly higher SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 score and prevalence of proteinuria (>1 g/d).

This was a small, cross-sectional, single-center study.

Nonscarring alopecia in SLE shows lupus erythematosus-specific changes on histology and DIF. Hair loss in SLE can be considered as an indicator of active disease.