BACKGROUND: The total number of patients with pattern hair loss (PHL) has increased in recent years, resulting in an increase of medical expenses. Hair loss may significantly affect psychosocial aspects of the patients' quality of life (QoL). Nevertheless, there are few epidemiological studies on medical/non-medical expenses and their relationship with QoL for PHL patients in Korea. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate medical/non-medical expenditure in male and female PHL patients and to determine the relationship between expenditure, QoL, and the clinical severity of hair loss among Korean patients. METHODS: A total of 204 patients (114 men and 90 women) were interviewed using a validated questionnaire to assess the overall and detailed patterns of their consumption. The Hair Specific Skindex-29 was used to evaluate the QoL of PHL patients. The severity of hair loss was evaluated using the 'Hamilton-Norwood classification' for men and the 'Ludwig classification' for women. RESULTS: The average monthly expenditure, expenses as a percentage of income, subjective economic burden, and QoL significantly correlated (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in actual expenditure, subjective economic burden, or QoL among the groups classified by the clinical severity of hair loss. CONCLUSION: The patient's socio-psychological stress for hair loss, not the clinical severity, could motivate the patient to pay more for treatment. In other words, there are individual differences in subjective severity of hair loss and the degree of acceptance; these are associated with actual expenditure and QoL.
Epidemiologic Studies ; Female* ; Hair* ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Individuality ; Korea ; Male* ; Quality of Life*

No abstract available.
Ectodermal Dysplasia* ; Humans ; Siblings*

No abstract available.
Dermoscopy ; Hair Diseases ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Pruritus

Hypomelanosis of Ito (HI) is a neurocutaneous disorder, also known as incontinentia pigmenti achromians. HI has been associated with chromosomal abnormalities, especially mosaicism. Herein, we report a case of HI with multiple congenital anomalies. A 2-month-old girl presented with multiple linear and whorling hypopigmentation on the face, trunk, and both extremities and patch alopecia on the scalp. Moreover, she had conical teeth, aniridia of the both eyes, and multiple musculoskeletal problems, including syndactyly and coccyx deviation. Cytogenetic analysis on peripheral blood was normal 46, XX, and no mutation was found in IKBKG gene test.
Alopecia ; Aniridia ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Coccyx ; Cytogenetic Analysis ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Hypopigmentation ; Infant ; Karyotype ; Mosaicism ; Neurocutaneous Syndromes ; Pigmentation Disorders ; Scalp ; Syndactyly ; Tooth

Background: Lichen striatus (LS) is a linear, inflammatory dermatosis that mainly affects children. To date, there are limited data comparing treatment outcomes between topical agents for pediatric LS. Objective: To investigate the clinical features and treatment outcomes associated with the use of topical agents for pediatric LS. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and clinical photographs of 60 pediatric patients classified into three groups according to the topical agent used. Treatment response was evaluated by comparing subjective symptoms and clinical photographs obtained at each visit. Results: A good response (＞75% clinical improvement from baseline) was achieved in 55%, 46.2%, and 42.9% of patients from the calcipotriol, corticosteroid, and calcineurin inhibitor groups, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in treatment duration among groups. However, when compared to other drugs, calcipotriol showed a trend towards shortening the disease course duration. Conclusion Topical use of calcipotriol, as well as corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors, may represent useful treatment options for pediatric LS, although further studies are required to confirm their efficacy and long-term safety.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of the long-pulsed diode laser (LPDL) in hair removal is determined with various physical parameters. Recently, LPDLs with a larger spot size are commercially available; however, the independent effect of spot size on hair removal has not been studied. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of the LPDL in hair removal depending on the spot size. METHODS: A randomized, evaluators-blind, intrapatient comparison (left vs. right) trial was designed. Ten healthy Korean women received three hair removal treatment sessions on both armpits with the 805-nm LPDL and followed for 3 months. A 10x10 mm handpiece (D1) or a 10x30 mm handpiece (D3) was randomly assigned to the right or left axilla. The fluence, pulse duration, and epidermal cooling temperature were identical for both armpits. Hair clearance was quantified with high-resolution photos taken at each visit. Postprocedural pain was quantified on a visual analogue scale. Adverse events were evaluated by physical examination and the patients' self-report. RESULTS: The mean hair clearance at 3 months after three treatment sessions was 38.7% and 50.1% on the armpits treated with D1 and D3, respectively (p=0.028). Procedural pain was significantly greater in the side treated with D3 (p=0.009). Serious adverse events were not observed. CONCLUSION: Given that the pulse duration, fluence, and epidermal cooling were identical, the 805-nm LPDL at the three times larger spot size showed an efficacy improvement of 29.5% in axillary hair removal without serious adverse events.
Axilla ; Female ; Hair Removal* ; Hair* ; Humans ; Lasers, Semiconductor* ; Physical Examination