Androgenetic alopecia is progressive balding characterized by diminution
in hair shaft diameter.1 It is unknown if
there is an altered degree of proliferation or cell death (apoptosis) in androgenetic
alopecia.
Materials and Methods
Two-millimeter punch or 9-mm wedge biopsy specimens were obtained from
donor and recipient regions from 12 men with androgenetic alopecia, aged 19
to 51 years (mean, 35 years), undergoing hair transplantation. Analysis included
terminal-vellus and anagen–catagen-telogen (anagen-other) ratios and
hair shaft diameter. Expression of bax, bcl-2, Ki67, hsp70, cyclin D1, and
p53 was immunohistochemically analyzed in all hair follicles as numbers of
labeled cells divided by the total numbers of cells located in the basal layer
of follicles. The t test was used to compare the
results.
Results
Quantitative analysis of hair diameter confirmed the clinical impression
of alopecia (recipient vs donor, 0.02 ± 0.01 mm vs 0.05 ± 0.01
mm [mean ± SD]; P<.001). There was a significant
decrease . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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