INCREASED SCALP SKIN AND SERUM 5-ALPHA-REDUCTASE REDUCED ANDROGENS INA MAN RELEVANT TO THE ACQUIRED PROGRESSIVE KINKY HAIR DISORDER AND DEVELOPING ANDROGENETIC ALOPECIA

Background: The acquired progressive kinking of scalp hair is a disord er in which affected hairs resemble secondary sexual hairs. Some autho rs have evoked an androgen-related disorder that heralds the onset of androgenetic alopecia. To verify this hypothesis, we focused our atten tion on a 23-year-old man who has this unusual disorder, which is prog ressing toward androgenetic alopecia. Patient's circulating 5 alpha-re ductase reduced androgen levels; scalp skin 5 alpha-dihydrotestosteron e formation; and trichography, histological, scanning, and polarizing electron microscopy analyses were compared in normal and affected scal p skin areas. Observations: Results of histological and scalp skin 5 a lpha-dihydrotestosterone formation analyses and comparison of growth p attern of kinky hair in the affected areas with that of healthy hair w ere similar to those found in androgenetic alopecia. Conclusions: No d ata are available to confirm the presence of a sole entity, even if ou r arguments support our hypothesis. The confirmation of this tendency warrants further investigation.