Third International Research Workshop on Alopecia Areata.

The Third International Research Workshop on Alopecia Areata was held in Washington DC on November 5, 1998. The conference was organized jointly by the National Alopecia Areata Foundation and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases with organizers Vera H. Price, Alan Moshell, Kurt S. Stenn, Madeleine Duvic, Lowell A. Goldsmith, Michael J. Cork, and Rudolf Happle. The Workshop brought together dermatologists, immunologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, biochemists, and pathologists for an open exchange of recent advances in alopecia areata, which is an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. Over 250 individuals from 21 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and the Middle East attended the 1 day meeting. This was a significant increase in participation over the Second International Research Workshop on Alopecia Areata held in 1994. Fourteen speakers gave seminars, and 33 posters were available for review on wide-ranging aspects of hair biology and alopecia areata. The format of the Workshop stimulated enthusiastic interaction and discussion among all the participants who represented academia, government, and the pharmaceutical industry.