Italian National Registry of Alopecia Areata: an epidemiological study of 699 Italian patients.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-specific autoimmune disease that affects the hair follicles of the scalp and the rest of the body causing hair loss. Due to the unpredictable course of AA and the different degrees of severity of hair loss, only a few well-designed clinical studies with a low number of patients are available. Also, there is no specific cure, but topical and systemic anti-inflammatory and immune system suppressant drugs are used for treatment. The need to create a global registry of AA, comparable and reproducible in all countries, has recently emerged. An Italian multicentric electronic registry is proposed as a model to facilitate and guide the recording of epidemiological and clinical data and to monitor the introduction of new therapies in patients with AA. METHODS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological data of patients with AA by collecting detailed information on the course of the disease, associated diseases, concomitant and previous events, and the clinical response to traditional treatments. Estimate the impact on the quality of life of patients. RESULTS: The creation of the National Register of AA has proven to be a valid tool for recording, with a standardized approach, epidemiological data, the trend of AA, response to therapies and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: AA is confirmed as a difficult hair disease to manage due to its unpredictable course and, in most cases, its chronic-relapsing course, capable of having a significant impact on the quality of life of patients.

Alopecia Areata after COVID-19 Vaccines.

Introduction: Alopecia areata (AA) is a common autoimmune disease characterized by non-scarring hair loss. New onsets of AA have been associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Various skin diseases have already been reported because of the vaccines (the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, the AstraZeneca vaccine) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Case Presentation: We report 5 cases of AA after COVID-19 vaccination. The trend shown by patients in this study is an initial worsening after the first dose of the vaccine with the stability of the disease even with subsequent doses. However, it is worth highlighting the case reported by one of our patients who suffered a "booster effect" of the disease with progressive and worsening alopecia with each vaccine booster. Discussion: The possible mechanism of action lies in the ability of COVID-19 vaccines to induce spike protein, which can lead to molecular mimicry phenomena. In an organism predisposed to autoimmunity, the mRNA vaccine acts as a trigger. Furthermore, we would like to point out how even cytokine storm and simple oxidative stress from SARS-CoV-2 infection can induce not only AA but also other types of hair loss such as telogen effluvium. Thus, this highlights how complex and multifaceted the phenomenon is.

Oral Minoxidil for Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia.

Introduction: Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA), one of the most dramatic side effects of chemotherapy, occurs in approximately 65% of patients receiving cytotoxic drugs. Case Presentation: We report the case of a patient, 64 years old, affected by chemotherapy-induced alopecia treated with oral minoxidil with good results. Discussion/Conclusion: Our case may be useful in the literature to propose a new therapy for this pathology that is fundamentally very difficult to treat.

A Case of Chronic HCV Infection Reactivation in a Psoriasis Patient Treated with Guselkumab.

INTRODUCTION: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease requiring long-term treatment. However, there are approximately 71 million individuals with chronic HCV infection worldwide. In psoriatic patients affected by chronic HCV infection, conventional systemic drugs may be frequently contraindicated, while data on biologics use are limited. CASE PRESENTATION: The case of a 48-year-old Caucasian man suffering from a severe form of plaque psoriasis and affected by a chronic-HCV-infection treated with guselkumab has been reported. Despite a huge improvement of the skin lesions (PASI reduced from 18 to 2), guselkumab was discontinued due to an HCV-infection reactivation after 3 months of treatment. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of the use of guselkumab in an HCV psoriatic patient. Further studies are needed to evaluate the safety of guselkumab in chronic HCV patients.

Clinical and Dermoscopic Approaches to Diagnosis of Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia: Results From a Multicenter Study of the International Dermoscopy Society.

INTRODUCTION: Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is a form of primary lymphocytic scarring alopecia characterized by a progressive recession of the fronto-temporal hairline. Although the clinical presentation of FFA is very typical, biopsy for histopathological examination is still recommended to confirm the diagnosis. Currently, a growing number of skin and mucosal inflammatory diseases are diagnosed with modern noninvasive techniques such as dermoscopy without the necessity of a biopsy. OBJECTIVES: The International Dermoscopy Society (IDS) aimed to test the ability of its members to diagnose classic FFA through clinical and dermoscopic parameters and to compare acquired data to the largest cohort studies published since 1994. METHODS: This is an observational, cross-sectional study describing patient demographics, clinical presentation and diagnostic tools used in a sample of FFA patients collected by IDS members. A literature search was then performed using Pubmed to review studies reporting more than 100 cases. RESULTS: IDS members submitted 188 cases demonstrating a predominant female population (98.4%). In 71.8% of the cases, the clinical presentation and the trichoscopic findings allowed for the diagnosis. Out of 24 revised studies, 13 showed that clinical and trichoscopic features were decisive for the diagnosis in almost all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Demographic and clinical data of our cohort were mostly comparable to previous reported data on FFA. The relevant role of the clinical and trichoscopic features in diagnosing FFA was confirmed by our study and the reviewed literature. Trichoscopy could be considered a worldwide-acknowledged non-invasive technique for the diagnosis of FFA.

Psychological teleconsultations in patients suffering from chronic skin diseases during the COVID-19 era: a service to improve patients' quality of life.

The COVID-19 era represented an important stressful event affecting population in many different ways, with important negative impact on social, working and relational life. Indeed, the home-isolation in addition to the high-level of distress given by fear of infection, has significantly resulted in a large number of psychological-consequences. Moreover, in order to guarantee a continuity of care, different measures have been applied among hospitals such as the implementation of teledermatology services. For these reasons, we implemented at our Dermatological-Clinic psychological video-consultations through our teledermatology-services. Herein we report our experience of 23 psychological-video-consultations, which led to achieve a significant reduction of DLQI (from 4.4 ± 3.9 at baseline to 1.6 ± 2.5 at week-4) in patients suffering from chronic skin conditions during the COVID-19 era.

Repigmentation of White Forelock in a Familial Case of Piebaldism Reported via Teledermatology in the COVID-19 Era.

Piebaldism is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by leucoderma with leucotrichia. We describe a case of white forelock repigmentation in an infant with piebaldism, thanks to a photograph sent by the patient's mother to our dermatology clinic, during COVID-19 pandemic.

From SARS-CoV-2 hematogenous spreading to endothelial dysfunction: clinical-histopathological study of cutaneous signs of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: To date, very few studies on clinical-histopathological correlations of cutaneous disorders associated with COVID-19 have been conducted. CASE PRESENTATION: The Case 1 was a 90-year-old man, who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 from a nasopharyngeal swab. Two days later, he was hospitalized and after eleven days transferred to Intensive Care Unit. A chest CT showed bilateral ground-glass opacities. Just that day, an erythematous maculo-papular rash appeared on trunk, shoulders and neck, becoming purpuric after few days. Histological evaluations revealed a chronic superficial dermatitis with purpuric aspects. The superficial and papillary dermis appeared edematous, with a perivascular lympho-granulocytic infiltrate and erythrocytic extravasation. At intraepithelial level, spongiosis and a granulocyte infiltrate were detected. Arterioles, capillaries and post-capillary venules showed endothelial swelling and appeared ectatic. The patient was treated with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, lopinavir-ritonavir and tocilizumab. Regrettably, due to severe lung impairment, he died. The Case 2 was a 85-year-old man, admitted to Intensive Care Unit, where he was intubated. He had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 from a nasopharyngeal swab two days before. A chest RX showed bilateral atypical pneumonia. After seven days, a cutaneous reddening involving trunk, upper limbs, neck and face developed, configuring a sub-erythroderma. Histological evaluations displayed edema in the papillary and superficial reticular dermis, and a perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate in the superficial dermis. The patient was treated with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, lopinavir-ritonavir and tocilizumab. Sub-erythroderma as well as respiratory symptoms gradually improved until healing. CONCLUSIONS: The endothelial swelling detected in the Case 1 could be a morphological expression of SARS-CoV-2-induced endothelial dysfunction. We hypothesize that cutaneous damage could be initiated by endothelial dysfunction, caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection of endothelial cells or induced by immune system activation. The disruption of endothelial integrity could enhance microvascular permeability, extravasation of inflammatory cells and cytokines, with cutaneous injury. The Case 2 developed a sub-erythroderma associated with COVID-19, and a non-specific chronic dermatitis was detected at histological level. We speculate that a purpuric rash could represent the cutaneous sign of a more severe coagulopathy, as highlighted histologically by vascular abnormalities, while a sub-erythroderma could be expression of viral hematogenous spreading, inducing a non-specific chronic dermatitis.