It is surprising that this article does not mention late syphilis as
a cause of atypical alopecia.
Some thirty years ago the BMJ (1) ran an article about alopecia and
syphilis. Within the month, I had newly acquired a practice patient who
had apparently been complaining of patchy "alopecia areata" for some time.
The appearances and long history did not seem to fit any alopecia areata
that I had seen. The "very long shot" serology result confirmed a
"specific" causation, turning out to be the unconfessed late result of a
single continental affair years previously. It was interesting that the
specific treatment also cured another problem of "detergent hand
dermatitis" as well as the alopecia!
(1) Kennedy C. "Syphilis presenting as hair loss". BMJ 1976
2;6040:854 (9th October).
Rapid Response:
Alopecia and Syphilis
Dear Editor,
It is surprising that this article does not mention late syphilis as
a cause of atypical alopecia.
Some thirty years ago the BMJ (1) ran an article about alopecia and
syphilis. Within the month, I had newly acquired a practice patient who
had apparently been complaining of patchy "alopecia areata" for some time.
The appearances and long history did not seem to fit any alopecia areata
that I had seen. The "very long shot" serology result confirmed a
"specific" causation, turning out to be the unconfessed late result of a
single continental affair years previously. It was interesting that the
specific treatment also cured another problem of "detergent hand
dermatitis" as well as the alopecia!
(1) Kennedy C. "Syphilis presenting as hair loss". BMJ 1976
2;6040:854 (9th October).
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests