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Centrifugal lipodystrophy of the scalp presenting with an arch-form alopecia: a 10-year follow-up observation.

Fukumoto D, Kubo Y, Saito M, Arase S

Department of Dermatology, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima City, Japan.

We describe a 10-year follow-up observation of progressive arch-form alopecia caused by centrifugal lipodystrophy (CLD) in a Japanese boy. A 2.5-year-old boy developed a slightly depressed lesion demarcated by a horseshoe-shaped erythematous border on his right neck, which then extended to the scalp. Four years later, arch-form alopecia became apparent in the right temporal region along with an erythematous border. The arch-form alopecia gradually expanded centrifugally, leaving a slight residual depression, but hair regrowth was seen within the area of alopecia. Histological examination of the erythematous border revealed non-specific inflammatory changes in the subcutaneous fat. Magnetic resonance imaging findings revealed a loss of subcutaneous fat inside the lesion. The alopecia continuously extended until he was 12 years old, but, thereafter, expansion ceased and hair regrowth gradually occurred in the arch-form alopecia. A linear non-hairy lesion 5 cm in length still remained when he was 13 years old. CLD might involve the scalp and cause linear, arch-form alopecia.

Published 28 August 2009 in J Dermatol, 36(9): 499-503.
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