Uncombable Hair Syndrome: Light Microscopy Diagnosis

The heat shrink tube technology – a simple method for making hair cross sections

“…Um die Strukturanomalien der Pili trianguli et canaliculi nachzuweisen, wird in der Regel eine elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchung durchgeführt, in der sich longitudinal verlaufende Furchen im Haarschaft darstellen lassen [7][8][9][10] . Dabei gilt die Rasterelektronenmikroskopie als Goldstandard [ 8,11,12 ]…”

Die Schrumpfschlauchtechnik – Eine einfache Methode zur Herstellung von Haarschaftquerschnitten

“…Dabei gilt die Rasterelektronenmikroskopie als Goldstandard [ 8,11,12 ] . Als eine alternative Methode zur Darstellung struktureller Störungen der Haare kann die SST angesehen werden.…”

Microscopic aspects of pili canaliculi

“…Pili canaliculi is a rare condition that belongs to the clinical spectrum of uncombable hair syndrome, 1–3 the first cases of which were described in 1973 4,5 . The gold standard for diagnosis is scanning electron microscopy (SEM) 6 , although cross‐sections of hairs may be helpful, 6,7 both techniques may show the typical grooves (canaliculi) on the hair surface.…”

“…It can be used in a magnification of 20–60 times. The need for less‐expensive techniques to diagnose hair diseases has been already advocated 6 . Very high magnifications are not possible, in such situations the SEM must be used 8–10 …”

“…Transversal sections can also be performed to establish the diagnosis 6 as indentations on the hair surface corresponds to the grooves, but stereomicroscopy is easier to perform, because the hairs are examined without any preparation. Another advantage from stereomicroscopy is the possibility to evaluate a large number of hairs, to exclude ‘physiological’ grooves, that can be found in up to 5% of hairs in the general population 8 .…”