Background Hair is an ectodermal structure, and its formation is regulated by master genes important in embryology. Hair shaft consists of three major regions: the medulla, cortex and cuticle. Hair shaft abnormality will divide structural hair abnormalities into two broad categories - those associated with increased hair fragility and those not associated with increased hair fragility. We condu...

Fig 1. Patient 1. Dermascopic image of the occipital scalp shows numerous broken hairs. Beaded hairs pathognomic of monilethrix can be seen. INTRODUCTION Monilethrix is an autosomal dominant genodermatosis characterized by hair fragility, keratosis pilaris, and pathognomonic beading of the hair shaft. Hair fragility may lead to hair breakage and the appearance of generalized hair loss. The gene...

White piedra is a superficial fungal infection of the hair shaft, caused by Trichosporon beigelii . We report two cases of white piedra presenting as brown palpable nodules along the hair shaft with a fragility of scalp hairs. T. beigelii was demonstrated in hair culture of both the patients and T. ovoides as a species was confirmed on carbohydrate assimilation test. The first patient responded...

Inherited desmosomal diseases are characterised by skin and/or cardiac features. Dermatological features might be a clue in the determination of the underlying life-threatening cardiac disease. This article aims to propose a dermatological algorithm for the diagnosis of desmosomal diseases after a systematic review of published articles. Palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK), hair shaft anomalies and ...

The hair shaft is a unique structure composed of an inner cortex and a protective outer cuticle. Any defects in this normal structure due to genetics or the environment can lead to variations in physical properties. Thus one should suspect a hair shaft disorder if a patient presents with an abnormality or change in hair texture, appearance, manageability or ability to grow hair long. A key feat...

Hair shaft disorders encompass a wide range of hair defects with or without fragility, which could be acquired inherited genetically. may localized generalized and are characterized by changes in color, structure, length, density. Pili torti, also called twisted hair, is clinical entity the flattened 180° along its axis. annulati described as striped showing alternate light dark bands. Trichorr...

Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic, autoimmune disease. The main symptom is massive hair loss, localized or diffuse, in the scalp and the whole body. However, nails may also be involved, and brittleness, fragility and pitting can be signs of nail dystrophy in AA patients. Here, we report the case of a male patient with AA refractory to various treatments, including oral, topical and intralesiona...

Woolly hair is an uncommon congenital anomaly of the scalp presenting with strongly coiled involving a localized area or covering entire side and occurring in non-black people. Among syndromes woolly hair, most known are Naxos syndrome, Carvajal-Huerta hair/hypotrichosis, ectodermal dysplasia-skin fragility tricho-hepato-enteric syndrome. Case characteristics: herein, we report case autosomal r...

Onset of type I keratin 17 (K17) synthesis marks the adoption of an appendageal fate within embryonic ectoderm, and its expression persists in specific cell types within mature hair, glands, and nail. We report that K17 null mice develop severe alopecia during the first week postbirth, correlating with hair fragility, alterations in follicular histology, and apoptosis in matrix cells. These alt...