TY - JOUR T1 - Cicatricial marginal alopecia: is it all traction? A1 - Goldberg,L J, Y1 - 2008/09/22/ PY - 2008/9/25/pubmed PY - 2009/2/20/medline PY - 2008/9/25/entrez SP - 62 EP - 8 JF - The British journal of dermatology JO - Br J Dermatol VL - 160 IS - 1 N2 - BACKGROUND: In a specialized hair loss clinic, a group of patients was identified with focal or complete hair loss at the scalp periphery, with a normal scalp surface. Biopsy revealed complete loss of individual hair follicles, indicative of scarring alopecia. Not all patients had a history supportive of a diagnosis of traction alopecia. OBJECTIVES: To identify and characterize further patients with scarring alopecia of the scalp margin using a retrospective review. METHODS: All biopsies of scarring alopecia carried out by a single clinician between 1 January 1999 and 29 September 2006 were reviewed. Patients in whom the hair loss was located at the periphery of the scalp were selected for retrospective chart review. RESULTS: A total of 15 patients met the study criteria, which included histological scarring alopecia and hair loss of the scalp margin. Six of the patients gave a history of relaxing or straightening their hair. Six denied hair care practices sufficient to cause traction alopecia. In three patients, the hair care history was unknown. Occipital hair loss was a common clinical finding, mimicking alopecia areata. The presence of scarring was often subtle histologically. CONCLUSIONS: A group of patients with moderate to severe cicatricial alopecia of the scalp margin is described. The presence of scarring is difficult to diagnose both clinically and histologically. The lack of a history of severe traction or harsh styling practices in half the patients casts doubt on whether or not traction is the only pathogenic factor. SN - 1365-2133 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/18811691/Cicatricial_marginal_alopecia:_is_it_all_traction L2 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2008.08848.x DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -