Use of the TrichoScan to Assess Female Pattern Hair Loss

Abstract

TrichoScan is a method of hair growth measurement that combines epiluminescence microscopy with automatic digital image analysis. Miniaturization is considered a cornerstone of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and is requisite for establishing the diagnosis. To examine miniaturization in women with AGA. Twenty-eight women with Ludwig pattern (aged 21-68, mean 46) were included. Miniaturization was estimated using the TrichoScan method. Almost one-quarter (21.4%) of the women had miniaturized hair only on the top of the head (the crown), 28.6% had miniaturized hair throughout the scalp, and 50.0% showed no miniaturization but a preponderance of thinning in the crown area. In all patients, a comparative study of hair diameter revealed significant differences between the crown and the occipital region. Our results imply that, in female hair loss, miniaturization might be a relative and not an absolute measurement, and AGA in women could be diagnosed also in the presence of a difference in hair shaft diameter.