Background: Hair diameter is a crucial element in deciding the treatment and predicting the prognosis of hair transplantation in patients with hair loss. Methods: Ten female volunteers participated in this study. Three sites at different horizontal positions of the scalp were chosen for measurement: midoccipital, mastoid, and temporal. Three boxes of 1 cm2 were marked from superior to inferior along the midline of each site, and five anagen hairs ≥10 cm long were randomly sampled from each box. The thickness of each collected hair was measured at three positions along the hair length: 1 cm, 5 cm, and 10 cm from the surface of the skin. The diameters of the hairs were measured using a micrometer caliper and a Folliscope phototrichogram, and the measurements were compared. Results: The average thickness of all hairs was 76.90±12.29 μm when measured with the caliper and 108.78±19.97 μm when measured with the phototrichogram. There was a statistically significant difference between the two measurement methods (P<0.001). The average hair thickness from the three areas (midoccipital, mastoid, and temporal) showed a significant difference between the caliper and the Folliscope hair measurements (P<0.001): midoccipital area (caliper, 74.46±9.71 μm; Folliscope, 109.03±19.59 μm), mastoid area (caliper, 76.36±10.67 μm; Folliscope, 103.73±18.67 μm), and temporal area (caliper, 79.89±15.18 μm; Folliscope, 113.59±20.43 μm). Conclusions Measuring hair thickness using a phototrichogram, which generates a measurement of the long-axis dimension, is clinically useful in the treatment of patients with hair loss and patients undergoing hair transplantation.

PURPOSE: In the USA and Europe, hypovitaminosis D is associated with increased asthma severity, emergency department (ED) visit, and impaired pulmonary function in asthmatic patients. However, in tropical countries, data on the effect of vitamin D status on asthma is limited. This study evaluates the relationship between vitamin D status and the level of asthma control as well as other asthmatic parameters. METHODS: Asthmatic children were evaluated for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, pulmonary function tests, a skin prick test, and the level of asthma control. RESULTS: A total of 125 asthmatic children were recruited (boys, 66.4%). Their mean age+/-SD was 10.8+/-3.0 years. Vitamin D statuses were: deficiency (<20 ng/mL) in 19.2% of the patients, insufficiency (20-30 ng/mL) in 44.8%, and sufficiency (>30 ng/mL) in 36%. The vitamin D levels were 25.9+/-9.4 ng/mL in uncontrolled patients, 29.2+/-8.6 ng/mL in partly controlled patients, and 27.9+/-8.0 ng/mL in controlled patients (P>0.05). There were no significant differences in pulmonary function, asthma exacerbation, inhaled-corticosteroid (ICS) dose, anti-inflammatory drugs, or ED visit or hospitalization between different vitamin D statuses. Vitamin D deficiency patients were older and had a delayed onset of asthma than insufficiency or sufficiency patients. There was no significant correlation between serum vitamin D and pulmonary function/doses of ICS. CONCLUSIONS: High prevalences of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency were found in asthmatic children in Thailand; however, there was no significant relationship between vitamin D status and the level of asthma control or other asthma parameters.
Asthma ; Child ; Emergencies ; Europe ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Skin ; Thailand ; Vitamin D ; Vitamin D Deficiency ; Vitamins