BRITTLE AND SPARSE HAIR WITH NORMAL CYSTINE CONTENT CAUSED BY METHIONINE DEFICIENCY

The unusual case of an 8-year-old girl with a hair disorder is present ed, characterized by brittle, short and sparse hair, On polarizing mic roscopy the latter reveals a ''tiger tail'' pattern, whereas severe cu ticular defects are detected on scanning electron microscopy. The pati ent's hair has a normal cystine content but is completely devoid of me thionine and reveals distinct changes of its viscoelastic parameters, It is presently unknown whether the lack of methionine may be implicat ed in the pathogenesis of this hair disorder, which to the best of our knowledge has not been previously described.