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The genetic epidemiology and autoimmune pathogenesis of alopecia areata
Author(s) -
McMichael Amy J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3083.1997.tb00225.x
Subject(s) - alopecia areata , medicine , circumstantial evidence , human leukocyte antigen , immunology , dermatology , autoantibody , autoimmune disease , allele , etiology , disease , pathogenesis , genetics , pathology , antigen , biology , antibody , gene , political science , law
Unlit recently, there was only circumstantial evidence to support the autoimmune and genetic etiology of alopecia areata. The advent of HLA stereotyping and linkage analysis has revealed an increase in specific HLA alleles in patients with alopecia areata and controls. Even more current is the detection of autoantibodies to the hair follicle in the sera from humans with alopecia areata and laboratory animal models of the disease. Recent experiments suggest that there may even be specific HLA class II alleles that play a protective role against the development of alopecia areata. Herein, the circumstantial data and the confirmed linkage data to support a genetic/autoimmune interplay theory of alopecia areata are discussed. The temporal advancements of research in the area of the HLA typing are reviewed for the disease.