[Postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia: 20 cases].

INTRODUCTION

Postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia is a scarring alopecia that has been recently described by Kossard in 1994 and rarely reported in the literature.

OBSERVATIONS: We have conducted a retrospective clinical and histological study of a series of 20 cases of postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia. The results, in agreement with those in the literature, revealed the stereotyped nature of this entity.

DISCUSSION: All the clinical and histological data suggest that postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia is a clinical form of lichen planopilaris occurring in elderly women. As with lichen planopilaris its physiopathology is unknown. However, in analogy with other lichen-like dermatoses, a lymphocyte T-mediated autoimmune reaction appears to play a predominant part in its genesis.