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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 2 | Page : 61-62 |
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Proceedings of the 7 th world congress of hair research
Patrick Yesudian
President, The Hair Research Society of India, No. 10, Ritherdon Avenue, Vepery, Chennai - 600 007, India
| Date of Web Publication | 12-Dec-2013 |
Correspondence Address:
Patrick Yesudian
President, The Hair Research Society of India, No. 10, Ritherdon Avenue, Vepery, Chennai - 600 007
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0974-7753.122957
How to cite this article:
Yesudian P. Proceedings of the 7 th world congress of hair research. Int J Trichol 2013;5:61-2 |
The congress was held between 4 th and 6 th May at Edinburgh, Scotland. The chairman Prof. Andrew Messenger and the scientific chair Prof. Valerie Randall with their team made the occasion a memorable one, not only from the scientific aspect but also from the social angle.
The venue was the Edinburgh International Centre. At the opening ceremony, mementoes were presented to the various hair research societies around the globe, including The Hair Research Society of India (THRSI), which I accepted as its founder president. True to Scottish tradition, this was followed by the whisky tasting session wherein famous scotch whiskies were served for tasting and appreciation by connoisseurs.
The pre-congress clinical course was held on the 4 th May. Many clinical pearls were presented by world leaders in trichology. Amy McMichael described a few hair disorders seen mostly in patients of color, such as dissecting cellulitis of the scalp, which may be helped by topical steroids. Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) occurs in African American women between 30 and 65 years of age. Traction plays an important role in its causation and histopathology shows an owl's eye appearance. Intralesional and topical steroids with long-term tetracycline would be the treatment of choice.
Mathew Harries spoke on lymphocytic cicatricial alopecia. A wedge-shaped scar histologically is characteristic of lichen planopilaris (LPP). He said that apart from the standard line of treatment like cyclosporin, mycophenolate mofetil, proglitazone, and 308-nm excimer laser, high dose of cetrizine may be helpful.
Vera Price spoke on female pattern hair loss (FPHL). She said that it can appear in three stages of life. The first stage is androgenetic alopecia and can occur from puberty to 40 years. The second stage of FPHL occurs between 40 and 55 years of age, and the third stage of senescence occurs after 60 years wherein age-related thinning occurs. This last stage does not occur in all old women and is not dihydrotestosterone (DHT) mediated.
Rodney Sinclair, while speaking on what is new in alopecia areata (AA), said that the self-antigen of AA is on the outer part of the hair follicle and the cytokines produced in the antigen antibody reaction from a single hair spread centrifugally to give the circular appearance based on a domino model.
Many other interesting papers were presented on subsequent days.
Angelo Christiano spoke on the genetics of AA. Abatecept which suppresses T cell activation shows promise for AA.
From the number of papers presented on frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), it appears that the condition is increasing in frequency.
Subbiah showed the importance of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of scarring in FFA.
A new clinical finding in FFA is the occurrence of facial papules. These appear on the forehead and temporal region and resemble keratosis pilaris and occur around vellus hairs. Topical steroids and hydroxychloroquine are used in therapy.
Hordinsky said that some patients with LPP and FFA complain of pain and burning sensation on the scalp. This is due to small-fiber neuropathy. These symptoms may be relieved with 6% topical gabapentin.
Russell claimed that hair grafting can be used even in cicatricial alopecia conditions like FFA, LPP, and folliculitis decalvans.
I chaired a session with Prof. Tosti and Dr. Grimalt during which some interesting original clinical observations were presented.
Adalimunab was used successfully in the treatment of recalcitrant dissecting cellulitis of the scalp.
A small series of chronic leg ulcers did well with hair follicle grafting.
A histopathologic study showed that sebaceous gland atrophy is not a sine qua non of cicatricial alopecias and can occur in psoriasiform dermatoses of the scalp.
An interesting paper from Cape Town demonstrated how invisible bleeding can occur after tonsuring and shaving and its relevance in blood-borne diseases.
In the session on psychology and hair disorders, Ralph Trueb said how difficult hair patients impede the clinician's ability to establish a therapeutic relationship. Vera price noted that more than 50% of hairs must fall before thinning becomes noticeable and that regrowth may take 6-12 months and this fact must be explained to the patients for their realistic expectations - the secret of contented patients.
Uwe Gieler said that cutaneous nerve growth factor expression is greatly increased in stress, explaining how stress can cause hair loss.
On the last day of the conference, THRSI held a symposium for an hour during which three interesting papers were presented.
More than 200 posters of high quality were put up with many outstanding original observations.
The conference ended with presentation of awards and prizes.
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