The genetic basis of pigmentation in alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common hair loss disorder characterized by discrete, well demarcated areas of non-scarring terminal hair alopecia, with the calculated lifetime risk of ~2%. In past decades, linkage and GWA studies have implicated dozens of susceptibility genes/loci that are linked to the development of AA. Fischer et al performed a genome-wide CNV analysis of 585 AA patients and 1,340 controls in a European population. This is the first genome-wide study of CNV to be performed in AA samples, and the association finding in the MCHR2 gene region further underscores the potential role of pigmentation in AA development.