Frontal fibrosing alopecia is a primary lymphocytic cicatricial alopecia, and is generally considered to be a subtype of lichen planopilaris due to similar histopathological changes. Its etiology is still unclear. With the deepening of research on this disease, more and more cases of frontal fibrosing alopecia have been reported in China and other countries. This review summarizes research progress in pathogenesis, clinical and pathological characteristics, and treatment of frontal fibrosing alopecia.

Chinese Medical Association and L′Oréal Group jointly launched "China Skin & Hair Grant" from 2003 to 2018 to support Chinese dermatologists in skin and hair research. This program has not only helped improve the research capability of Chinese dermatologists, but also yielded abundant valuable Chinese population-based clinical and basic research results, and further enabled active academic communication through Chinese and international journals and conferences. This article summarizes main results of scalp- and hair-related research projects based on program records and publications.

Objective:To assess the antibody persistence 3-5 years following vaccination of measles and rubella combined live-attenuated vaccine (MR) at 8 months of age and measles, mumps and rubella combined attenuated live vaccine (MMR) at 18 months of age.Methods:In 2016, 18-month-old children who were vaccinated with one dose of MR vaccine at the age of 8 months were recruited in Hebei Province as group 1; 4-, 5- and 6-year-old children who were vaccinated with one dose of MR vaccine at the age of 8 months and one dose of MMR vaccine at 18 months of age were recruited in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Beijing as group 2, group 3 and group 4, respectively. Serum samples were collected to detect IgG antibodies against measles, mumps and rubella by ELISA. Geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) of measles, mumps, and rubella antibodies were compared among groups by analysis of variance or non-parametric test. Seropositive rates were compared among groups by Chi-square test or Fisher′s exact test. Results:A total of 650 children were included in this study. Seropositive rates of measles, mumps and rubella antibodies 30 d after vaccination of 150 18-month-old children with one dose of MMR vaccine were 100%, 91.33% and 100%, respectively, and the GMCs were 1 846.87 mIU/ml, 299.91 IU/ml and 111.33 IU/ml, respectively. Seropositive rates of measles, mumps and rubella antibodies 3-5 years after vaccination one dose of MR vaccine at 8 months of age and one dose of MMR vaccine at 18 months of age were above 94%, 79% and 71%, respectively, and the GMCs were above 830 mIU/ml, 240 IU/ml and 31 IU/ml. No significant difference in the seropositive rates of the three antibodies was observed among groups 2, 3 and 4 ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the GMCs of measles or mumps antibodies among the three groups ( P>0.05), but the differences in the GMCs of rubella antibodies were statistically significant ( P=0.034). Conclusions:Measles, mumps and rubella antibodies persisted for 3-5 years without significant decrease after vaccination one dose of MR vaccine at 8 months of age and one dose of MMR vaccine at 18 months of age.

Objective: To compare diagnostic performance of traditional vertical section technique, horizontal section technique and modified Ho-Vert technique for classical lichen planopilaris. Methods: Clinical data were collected from patients with classical lichen planopilaris in Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Wuxi People′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 1st 2015 to January 1st 2019. With the help of dermoscopy, 2 scalp specimens were obtained from each patient and sliced horizontally and vertically respectively by using modified Ho-Vert technique. The horizontal and vertical sections were read separately or simultaneously, and histopathological changes were observed. Results: Totally, 21 patients with classical lichen planopilaris were enrolled into this study, including 15 males and 6 females. Their age was 50.0 ± 13.6 years, and the average course of disease was 18 months. The patients mainly presented with multifocal or confluent patchy hair loss, and scalp atrophy, perifollicular hyperkeratosis, loss of follicular ostia, fibrous white dots and orbit sign were observed. On the horizontal sections, lichenoid lymphocytic infiltration around the infundibulum and isthmus of hair follicles and follicular micro-scars could be observed in all patients, and the dermo-epidermal interface could be seen in 7 patients. On the vertical sections, lichenoid lymphocytic infiltration around the infundibulum and isthmus of hair follicles only could be observed in 9 patients, follicular micro-scars could be seen in 4, and the dermo-epidermal interface could be observed in all patients. Moreover, the detection rates of interfollicular interface dermatitis, follicular keratotic plugs, lymphocytic infiltration around sebaceous glands, atrophy or disappearance of sebaceous glands and inflammatory infiltration around hair follicle bulbs were significantly different between the horizontal and vertical sections. In combination with clinical manifestations, 7 patients could be exactly diagnosed with lichen planopilaris according to findings from horizontal sections, and 9 could be diagnosed exactly according to findings from vertical sections, while 21 could be diagnosed exactly according to histopathological findings from both horizontal and vertical sections. Conclusion With the help of dermoscopy, modified Ho-Vert technique can improve the efficacy of pathological diagnosis of classical lichen planopilaris, by multidimensionally showing histopathological changes.

Alopecia is a common disease in dermatologic clinics.The diagnosis of some hair diseases does not rely on pathological examinations,and with the development of science and technology,the role of many new non-invasive detection instruments,such as dermoscopy,hair scanners and skin CT,is increasingly valued in the diagnosis and treatment of hair diseases.However,the role of pathological examination is still irreplaceable.Because of the particularity of hair diseases,hair pathology differs from common skin pathology in the aspects of scalp biopsy sites,biopsy methods and techniques,tissue-slicing methods and pathological report content.This review systematically discusses the role of scalp pathological biopsy in the diagnosis and treatment of alopecia.

Background and purpose:Clinical data show that Endostar, a recombinant human endostatin, has the therapeutic beneift for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) while combined with chemotherapy or ra-diotherapy. However, the microenvironment changes induced by Endostar monotherapy in NSCLC is not yet clear. The purpose of this study was to prospectively study tumor vascular effects of Endostar monotherapy in patients with locally advanced or advanced NSCLC by dynamic contrast-enhanced perfusion computed tomography (CT perfusion, CT-p). Methods:Previously untreated patients with histologically or cytologically conifrmed locally advanced or advanced NSCLC were eligible. All patients received daily Endostar (7.5 mg?m2) for 14 days. CT-p scans were acquired at the baseline and post-treatment. CT-p parameters, such as blood lfow (BF), blood volume (BV) and permeability surface PS (area product), were measured in all patients.Results:Of all 7 patients enrolled, four were staged asⅢB and three as stageⅣ (2 with malignant pleural effusion, 1 with brain metastasis). The median BF, BV and PS values of baseline and post-treatment were 27.1/48.9 mL/100 mL/min, 86.8/84.8 mL/100 mL and 45.0/54.0 mL/100 mL/min, respectively. After administration of Endostar for 14 days , BF showed a signiifcant increase compared with that at baseline (P=0.028), whereas no signiifcant changes were found in BV (P=0.398) and PS (P=0.237) values.Conclusion:Our results suggest that Endostar monotherapy induces a signiifcant increase in BF whereas no signiifcant difference in BV and PS.

Humans ; Tuberculosis ; pathology

Objective To screen genes differentially expressed between dermal papilla cells from occipital and vertex scalp of patients with androgenic alopecia (AGA) through a 3D culture system.Methods Dermal papilla cells isolated from the occipital scalp tissue of patients with AGA were cultured in a 2D system for several days.Then,the third-passage dermal papilla cells were subjected to a 3D culture with the presence of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) for 72 hours (experimental group).The dermal papilla cells isolated from the vertex scalp tissue of patients with AGA,which were cultured in a 3D system with dimethyl sulfoxide,but not DHT,served as the control group.Subsequently,total RNA was extracted from the cells and reversely transcribed into cDNA followed by labeling with Cy3 and hybridization to a NimbleGen microarray.Gene ontology (GO) and pathway analysis was carried out to screen differentially expressed genes between the experimental and control group.Real time PCR was conducted to validate the results of microarray analysis.Results As the genome-wide expression profile analysis showed,there were 622 genes differentially expressed between the experimental group and control group,of which,359 were up-regulated and 263 were down-regulated in the experimental group compared with the control group.The above results were corffirmed by real time PCR.GO analysis revealed that the up-regulated genes,such as the CHEK1 and Tobl genes,were mainly involved in the inhibition of cell proliferation and promotion of cell apoptosis,while the down-regulated genes,such as the BAMBI,EFNA3,Dlx3 and UCGC genes,were associated with the acceleration of cell proliferation as well as the growth and development of epidermis.Pathway analysis showed that cell circle-controlling molecules were the most abundant molecules.Conclusions Numerous signalling molecules and pathways are involved in the development of AGA,which are mainly responsible for the modulation of cell circle,proliferation and apoptosis.

Background and purpose:We investigated whether lfuorine-18 lfuorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) maximal standard uptake value (SUVmax) of the primary tumor (SUV-T), SUVmax of the regional lymph nodes (SUV-N) or the overall loco-regional lesion SUVmax (SUV-TOTAL) was related to survival of patients with stage Ⅲ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received Cetuximab and combined definitive chemoradiotherpay. Methods:From September 2009 to July 2012, seventeen patients with unresectable stageⅢNSCLC receiving cetuximab with cisplatin/vinorelbine (NP) followed by concomitant NP and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) at the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were enrolled onto a prospectively study. All patients received positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) scans within 2 weeks before enrolment. Univariate analysis were used to assess the correlation between SUV-T, SUV-N, SUV-TOTAL, gender, age, histology, tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, performance status (PS) as well as smoking status and survival. The factors which showed statistical signiifcance entered into multivariate Cox-regression model. Survival functions of different populations were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared by Log-rank test. Results:In the univariate analysis, SUV-T, SUV-N, SUV-TOTAL, PS and smoking status were prognostic factors. The best cut-off values for SUV-T, SUV-N and SUV-TOTAL were 11, 11 and 20, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that SUV-TOTAL (P=0.012), SUV-T (P=0.025), and SUV-N (P=0.033) were independent predictors of survival with hazard ratio (HR) of 14.7, 11.2, and 6.2, respectively. Conclusion:Local, regional and locoregional maximal SUVs deifned by 18F-FDG PET-CT scanning may have a strong correlation with survival in this patients setting, which merits further study.

Objective To observe the morphological changes of hairs in two patients with loose anagen hair syndrome.Methods Light microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe the morphology of hair shaft and follicles from two patients,including a 3-year-old girl child and her mother,with loose anagen hair syndrome.Results Light microscopy revealed that hair bulb was deformed,hair shaft was distorted,damaged,and even disrupted,and hairs tapered in diameter at their distal end.Scanning electron microscopy showed deformed or distorted hair shaft and wave-like edge of hair cuticles.Transmission electron microscopy revealed that pathological changes were mainly localized in the inner root sheath with vacuolization in both inner and outer root sheath cells.Intercellular adhesion was weak with a decrease or disappearance of desmosomes.Conclusion The pathological changes of hairs are mainly localized in the inner root sheath in patients with loose anagen hair syndrome.