Alopecia areata and bisalbuminaemia (a casual coincidence).

Bisalbuminaemia, the heterozygote manifestation of an autosomal dominant condition, is detected by electrophoresis, when two distinct albumin bands are separated. Approximately 50 cases with bisalbuminaemia have been published worldwide. This phenomenon is very rare in Central Europe. A 17-year-old Hungarian girl, admitted for an alopecia areata of bacterial origin (tonsillitis), was found after routine electrophoresis to have bisalmbuminaemia. The albumin variant was of the "slow type". The ratio of the two components was 1:1. Immunoelectrophoresis with anti-albumin serum showed only one precipitation band in the albumin region. The rarity of bisalbuminaemia appeared to justify publication.