P39 DIFFUSE ALOPECIA AREATA IN A PATIENT WITH CROHN`S DISEASE

¹Lee H.J., 1Kim M. Y., ²Whiting D. A., ¹Kim J. W.; ¹Dept. of Dermatology, St. Paul´s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea,  Seoul, Korea; ²Dept. of Dermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.

Hair loss was rarely reported in association with Crohn´s disease. The accurate diagnosis of the hair loss was not certain because most of the cases were described by non-dermatologists. The reported forms included telogen effluvium and alopecia totalis induced by drugs or related to an acute episode of inflammatory bowel disease. Mesalazine is used in inflammatory bowel disease, and hair loss of two weeks duration. Sudden onset of hair loss occurred whilst on maintenance of mesalazine. Physical examination showed a diffuse hair loss of scalp without any sign of inflammation or scarring. Club hairs from any location on the scalp cold be pulled out without resistance. He had mild  anaemia and other laboratory tests were normal. Most follicles in transverse sections were in catagen. Mild peribulbar inflammations and pigment cast were found. After one week of treatment with topical steroid and minoxidil, his scalp hairs started to regrow and were completely recovered by two months. Mesalazine could be a course of the hair loss, but the etiologic association of Crohn´s disease cannot be ruled out completely.