‘Ho-ver’ing Over Alopecia Areata: Histopathological Study of 50 Cases

BACKGROUND: Different studies have been done on this topic, most of the older studies on the vertical section confirm that peribulbar infiltrate is an important finding, however the newer studies on the horizontal section, mention decreased anagen to telogen ratio, decreased terminal to vellus hair ratio and a decreased follicular count. These studies on horizontal (transverse sections) have shown that transverse sectioning is superior and more diagnostic in studying alopecias. However, these studies are based on multiple cut sections, because in a single cut section, we may miss a few hair bulbs above or below, depending on where the section is taken. Hence this makes it a time consuming, technically challenging and expensive procedure. OBJECTIVES: 1. To compare the histopathological features of single vertical section versus a single horizontal section cut in the reticular dermis. 2. To determine if a single horizontal section is sufficient to report a biopsy of alopecia areata compared to multiple sections. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To compare the findings, in 50 patients with localized alopecia areata, 25 sectioned horizontally and 25 vertically, single section. Only three of the common findings, peribulbar infiltrate, intrabulbar infiltrate and perifollicular microscarring was considered and reported. RESULTS: Once the anagen to telogen ratio is excluded from the comparison, diagnosis made on the basis of a single horizontal section is considered sufficient to give us an aid toward the prognosis.