Life Events and Alopecia areata

Perini, Giulia; Fornasa, C. Veller; Cipriani, Roberto; Bettin, A; Zecchino, F; Peserico, Andrea

doi:10.1159/000287786

Cited by 61 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Mac Alpine [26], however, found no evidence to suggest that emotional factors play a significant role in the disease. Nevertheless, it does remain possible, as shown in a 1984 study [27], that severe emotional stress could be a precipitating factor in certain cases. This does not totally contradict an immunological view of its pathogenesis, since alterations of immune function can occur under conditions of severe psychological stress [28,29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alopecia Areata and Associated Diseases in Saudi Patients

Al-Khawajah

1991

Ann Saudi Med

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alopecia Areata and Associated Diseases in Saudi Patients

Al-Khawajah

1991

Ann Saudi Med

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“…During the last two decades, controlled retrospective investigations began to appear in the literature, contributing to a better understanding of the role played by stressful life events in alopecia areata [42, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75]. The results of these studies, as well as the characteristics of subjects and procedures, are summarized in table 2.…”

Section: Alopecia Areatamentioning

confidence: 99%

Stressful Life Events and Skin Diseases: Disentangling Evidence from Myth

Picardi

Abeni²

2001

Psychother Psychosom

223

149

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The possibility of a causal influence of emotional stress, especially of stressful life events, on the course of various skin diseases has long been postulated. Clinical wisdom and experience, as well as many anecdotal observations and uncontrolled case series, support this opinion. We reviewed the available evidence on the role of stressful life events in triggering or exacerbating skin diseases. The role of stressful events in vitiligo, lichen planus, acne, pemphigus and seborrhoeic dermatitis was either controversial or insufficiently explored. The role of stressful events in psoriasis, alopecia areata, atopic dermatitis and urticaria was apparently clearer. However, only a few studies met acceptable methodological standards for stress measurement. Also, few studies considered common potential confounding factors (e.g. age, duration of illness, familial factors), and no study controlled adequately for the influence of other crucial factors (e.g. discontinuation of treatment, seasonal effects). Adding that the large majority of studies were retrospective, it seems wise to conclude that only preliminary evidence has been published so far on the role of stressful life events in bringing on or worsening any dermatological disease. Further research is mandatory, either in the form of prospective studies or, more feasibly, of well-designed case-control studies with adequate statistical power. Future studies should also pay more attention to protective as well as vulnerability factors in stressful events. Further, it would be important to investigate other sources of psychological stress, such as chronic stress and everyday stress. Measuring stress appraisal, although difficult, would also be important.

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“…The incidence of its differ ent types seems to vary from country to coun try [2,3], A great variability of etiological fac tors has been associated with this disorder, including immunologic changes, endocrine factors, infections, physical or psychological trauma [1,3,4], Stressful life events have been reported as precipitating factors in alopecic patients [5][6][7], Many authors found a significant association between anxiety and affective disorders and onset of AA [5,[7][8][9], However, other authors did not confirm such an association [10,11]. The course of AA is often unpredictable: general and topic treat ments are often uneffective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imipramine in Alopecia Areata

Perini¹,

Zara²,

Cipriani

et al. 1994

Psychother Psychosom

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Alopecia areata (AA) is a dermatologic disease whose onset is significantly associated to life events. Its course may often be characterized by high levels of anxiety and depression. These observations suggested a rationale for using an antidepressant in AA. Thirteen patients were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of efficacy of imipramine in alopecia. After six months clinically significant hair regrowth occurred in 5 of the 7 patients on imipramine, whereas no response was observed in the placebo group. An improvement in psychic symptomatology was present in both groups. Our preliminary results indicate the potential efficacy of imipramine in patients with AA, not acting directly through a reduction of anxiety or depression.

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Life Events and Alopecia areata

Cited by 61 publications

References 8 publications

Alopecia Areata and Associated Diseases in Saudi Patients

Alopecia Areata and Associated Diseases in Saudi Patients

Stressful Life Events and Skin Diseases: Disentangling Evidence from Myth

Imipramine in Alopecia Areata

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