Follicular mucinopathy

Introduction to hair follicle mucin Follicular mucinosis is a patchy alopecia syndrome due to mucin deposition and subsequent hair follicle degeneration. Can be divided into two clinical types of primary and secondary. More common in patients under the age of 40. Lesions are characterized by one or two or more non-inflammatory scaly plaques and inflammatory erythema, slightly higher than the skin surface, with clustered follicular papules. In a small number of cases, flat or dome-shaped plaques or nodules appear, which are soft and sometimes can squeeze mucous substances in the affected hair follicles. basic knowledge The proportion of the disease: the incidence rate is about 0.001% -0.005% Susceptible people: no special people Mode of infection: non-infectious Complications: lymphoma

Causes of hair follicle mucin

Cause:

The cause is still unclear. The vast majority of cases, especially those under 40 years old, have unknown causes and have no serious consequences. Those over 40 years old are more related to cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Pathogenesis

The pathogenesis is still unclear, and mucin deposition and subsequent hair follicle degeneration cause patchy alopecia to be one of the mechanisms of onset.

Hair follicle mucin prevention

1. Pay attention to climate change, prevent and actively treat viral infections.

2, pay close attention to the changes of superficial lymph nodes, for patients with similar diseases in the family members, should be more vigilant.

3, strengthen physical exercise, improve the body's immunity and disease resistance.

Complications of hair follicle mucin Complications lymphoma

The disease can also be complicated by lymphoma, the most affected lymph nodes are the neck, followed by the armpit and groin. Generally painless, progressive swelling, moderate hardness. It is active in the early stage, and more adhesions occur in the late stage and multiple swollen lymph nodes merge into pieces. In some HD patients, lymphadenopathy can temporarily pause or even shrink at a certain time, so that it is misdiagnosed as lymphadenitis or lymphatic tuberculosis.

Symptoms of hair follicular mucinosis Common symptoms scaly papules nodules hair loss

2 to 80 years old can be ill, can be divided into 2 types.

1. Original hair (benign type): more common in patients under 40 years old, the skin lesions are characterized by 1 or 2 or multiple non-inflammatory scaly plaques and inflammatory erythema, slightly higher than the skin surface, with clustered hair follicles Sexual papules, a few cases with flat or dome-shaped plaques or nodules, soft; sometimes can squeeze out mucous substances in the affected hair follicles, inflammation often leads to hair loss, occasionally cause hypopigmentation, face and scalp Most common, can also affect the trunk and limbs, localized skin lesions found in the head and face, usually disappear within 1 year, the time required for generalized skin lesions is slightly longer, generally does not produce permanent hair loss; very few patients can be associated with Hodgkin disease.

2. Secondary hair (malignant type): more common in patients over the age of 40, in addition to the above skin lesions, often accompanied by the appearance of skin T-cell lymphoma, patients often die of lymphoma or other complications.

Examination of follicular mucinosis

Histopathology: mainly the mucin deposition of the outer root sheath and sebaceous gland. The keratinocytes of the outer root sheath are separated by mucin and star-shaped. The mucin is mainly hyaluronic acid, which can be stained with colloidal iron. The upper part of the dermis and the hair follicle There are lymphocytes, eosinophils and plasma cells infiltrating around, and a certain degree of lymphocyte pro-follicularity can be seen. The malignant type also shows obvious lymphocyte pro-epidermal and micro-abscess (Pautrier microabscess).

Diagnosis and identification of hair follicle mucin

According to the hair follicles on the hair follicle plaque, the inflammatory reaction is light, the mucus discharge can be seen when the hair follicle is squeezed, and the typical histopathology is generally easy to diagnose.

For patients over 40 years of age, attention should be paid to the diagnosis of lymphoma.

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