Abstract | BACKGROUND: OBSERVATIONS: We describe a patient with concurrent psoriasis and alopecia universalis with terminal hairs within plaques on his extremities, representing the only normal hair growth on his body. Adjacent biopsy specimens confirmed our clinical suspicion of plaque psoriasis with normal hair follicles and alopecia universalis with a peribulbar lymphocytic infiltrate. Our patient's psoriatic plaques cleared rapidly with narrow-band UV-B phototherapy, but hair growth at the site was maintained. His scalp alopecia responded to squaric acid dibutylester contact sensitization therapy. CONCLUSIONS: This case represents a natural experiment in which 3 distinct but overlapping immune responses favored psoriasis or contact dermatitis over alopecia areata. The precise mechanism responsible for these effects remains unclear; however, based on recent reports, we speculate that cytokine cross-regulation plays a role in competition among these distinct immune responses.
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Authors | John E Harris, John T Seykora, Robert A Lee |
Journal | Archives of dermatology
(Arch Dermatol)
Vol. 146
Issue 4
Pg. 422-5
(Apr 2010)
ISSN: 1538-3652 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 20404233
(Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
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Topics |
- Adult
- Alopecia Areata
(complications, pathology, therapy)
- Dermatitis, Contact
(complications, pathology, therapy)
- Humans
- Male
- Psoriasis
(complications, pathology, therapy)
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