Scarring Alopecia - Question and Answer Session

In this video, Dr. Donovan answers 31 questions related to scarring alopecia that were submitted by participants of a September 2021 live public webinar.
Questions are summarized below with time stamps to facilitate easy access.
Q1. (see question at 1:26) Does telogen effluvium ever form scars?
Q2. (see question at 1:59) For patients with FFA do you order hormone levels prior to ordering finasteride or dutasteride? If levels are drawn do you refer the patient to an endocrinologist or do you evaluate the lab results and prescribe accordingly? Do you prescribe without lab values?
Q3 (see question at 4:33) I was diagnosed with LPP in April 2021. Prescribed hydroxychloroquine 200 mg once per day and minoxidil once per day. I was also given steroid injections in scalp in April. On return visits there has been no sign of inflammation. Two years ago I had lichen planus all over my body. Three drs said the worst case they had ever seen. Tried prednisone, phototherapy…both did nothing. Started Methotrexate and was on that for about 12 months. It cleared the LP and it has not returned. My question is should I be on methotrexate now for LPP considering my history?
Q4. (see question at 6:50) Second question….it seems that LPP and LP initially were activated after being given steroids/anti inflammatory meds for other issues…could the LP and LPP be activated by this?
Q5. (see question at 10:01). I was diagnosed with LPP and AA nearly a year ago. I am under a dermatologist. So far, I have only been given Elocom cream to use for 6 weeks and still getting itching. Thankfully no further hair loss than the small area on the hairline
Q6. (see question at 11:31) What is meant by burnt out scarring alopecia?
Q7. (see question at 15:44) My biopsy says I have mild inflammation. What does this mean?
Q8. (see question at 17:10) How often does LPP and FFA occur in the same patient?
Is LPP the same as FFA? What type of environmental factors might be relevant in scarring alopecia?
Q9. (see question at 22:28): I have had LPP for a year and thankfully not got worse. So far only used steroid cream . Could this be it? Or am I being too. Optimistic?
Q10. (see question at 23:40). Is the risk of rosacea increased in FFA?
Q11. (see question at 24:22) I have CCCA and fibroids. Is there known to be a risk of fibroids in CCCA?
Q12. (see question at 24:56) Can LPP be caused by medications ?
Q13. (see question at 25:49) What is the minimum of time between two sessions of steroid injections in FFA?
Q14. (see question at 28:16) Can LPP affect the whole scalp?
Q15. (see question at 28:33) I have folliculitis decalvans and my doctor wants to give me steroid injections. Won’t it make it worse if it’s caused by infection?
Q16. (see question at 29:57) I have CCCA. Should I do doxycycline or steroid injections?
Q17. (see question at 31:38) What supplement should a person with scarring alopecia take?
Q18. (see question at 32:57) I would like to have a hair transplant but I read mixed things. Is it safe for a person with scarring alopecia? I have lichen planopilaris.
Q19. (see question at 34:24) How likely is it that a topical steroid will stop my LPP and that’s all I will need?
Q20. (see question at 35:36) Does finasteride cause breast cancer ? I have been recommended it for my FFA.
Q21. (see question at 39:31) Are there any over the counter products that help scarring alopecia?
Q22.. (see question at 40:52) I had a biopsy that showed I have scarring alopecia. Will I need to get another one to see if it is dormant?
Q23. (see question at 42:07) For a patient diagnosed with LPP, what antibiotics if any would you suggest. Also should I be taking high doses of Vitamin D?
Q24. (see question at 43:33) Can you put or use hair dye and is there a particular chemical to avoid or look out for?
Q25. (see question at 45:40) Does LPP typically improve if other health issues (e.g. gut / nutrition, thyroid, stress) are brought under control?
Q26. (see question at 47:48) Does an autoimmune diet help? Do you need to cut our dairy and gluten?
Q27. (see question at 49:26) Is Titanium Dioxide the culprit to halt loss?
Q28. (see question at 50:16) What does inflammation mean? Is that bad for you?
Q29. (see question at 51:29) Do you recommend PRP or Light Therapy?
Q30. (see question at 52:35) What about shampoos? Are there any that are recommended?
Q31. (see question at 54:28) I was prescribed a JAK inhibitor cream for my frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA). I know it is newly FDA approved for alopecia areata. Do you know anything about the efficacy for cicatricial alopecia?

Пікірлер: 35

  • @SashOg
    @SashOg2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you. Great information!

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    thanks very much

  • @samt486
    @samt4862 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for your video. I have learned some things.

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    great ! thanks Sam

  • @lynneedavis
    @lynneedavis2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Dr Donovan......great, informative video.....

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    thanks so much

  • @tiawilson6368
    @tiawilson63682 жыл бұрын

    Have you utilized Plasma treatment? I think its P2P. Is that an option for CCCA that is not burnt out?

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    PRP or platelet rich plasma is an option for CCCA but in my opinion it's a second line agent not a first line agent. Steroid injections, topical steroids and oral agents like doxycycline and growth stimulators like minoxidil should be considered first in my opinion. Second line agents like PRP and topical metformin can be considered in the future for a given patient depending on the response to first line agent and any contraindications. You can see the first, second and third line agents for treating CCCA here: donovanmedical.com/hair-blog/scarring-alopecia-tmt

  • @gunnar4554
    @gunnar45542 жыл бұрын

    I know this is a touchy subject, but have you noticed any correlation between MRNA vaccination and flare ups of LPP? Of course this is totally unrelated to the importance of vaccination. Thank you Dr.

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    yes, I most certainly have. Fortunately, it's not too common

  • @dbrown1500
    @dbrown15002 жыл бұрын

    Great video.!!.....question: Can scarring alopecia be diffuse and all over the head mimicing Chronic Telogen Effluvium with a truncated anagen cycle??? Particularly if the scarring alopecia came from damage to the scalp from doses of Topical Tretinoin that caused inflammation and/ or Topical Triamcinolone at a does too high that caused burning? My mair fell out by the roots and only stopped when I took and Oral Steroid taper. It could have been a coincidence because it was around the 3 month mark, but my scalp was VERY inflammed before the steroid.

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    Scarring alopecia (ie lichen planopilaris) can be diffuse. Yes. That part of the question is easy. But it's very unlikely that the description above is a story of scarring alopecia like lichen planopilaris. LPP would not usually come to an end so quickly. The good news is that it's easy to confirm or refute a diagnosis of LPP with one or two simple 4 mm punch biopsies. Loss of sebaceous glands with evidence of follicular damage (necrosis/lichenoid change) would be supportive of that diagnosis. Overall, it's very very unlikely that the scenario presented above represents a diagnosis of LPP. However, a full clinical history together with a good scalp examination and biopsy read by a skilled dermatopathologist can rule out or rule in scarring alopecia. The story here is more liklely to be one of a highly responsive dermatitis rather than a folliculocentric immune based scarring alopecia. Be sure to see a dermatologist for full review and consideration of biopsy.

  • @dbrown1500

    @dbrown1500

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@donovanmedical9780 thank you so much!

  • @dbrown1500

    @dbrown1500

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@donovanmedical9780 also fun fact! 85% of the hairs that shed were the long hairs and left me with many different hairs of different lengths.....

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@dbrown1500 That would be a very typical story of someone who shed. Depending on how long it's been since the episode, non-scarring hair loss conditions such as 1) telogen effluvium or 2) telogen effluvium precipitating androgenetic alopecia need to be properly considered. A hair specialist help you can confirm what's actually going on with the steps above. For the first 2-6 months after a shed we expect hairs of different lengths. That's normal. However, in a 'true' telogen effluvium without evidence of coexistent androgenetic alopecia, that scalp returns back to normal in 6-12 months. After 1 year, this variation in the length of hairs is no longer appreciated.

  • @emilphoryew9436
    @emilphoryew94362 жыл бұрын

    Hi Dr. Donovan, Is confocal microscopy able to determine if a scarring alopecia is active or burnt out or is a scalp biopsy necessary to differentiate this? Thank you for all the precise knowledge you share regarding hair loss! Greetings, Jeffrey

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    Confocal microscopy can not. However, one should not assume that a biopsy is what is always needed to get this information. A really good history and good physical examination (with trichoscopy) gets us this information in 99% of cases.

  • @E10l
    @E10l2 жыл бұрын

    Hi Dr Donovan, Do you have FFA cases that nothing worked for them? My derm put me on Dutasteride,Isotretinoin,Cyclosporine, Plaquenil and 10mg Prednisone. I’m losing hope as I see my hair disappearing. She said next step is Pioglitazone and Xeljanz. How long it takes Cyclosporine to work in FFA? Its been 5 weeks and no change 😢 Hope so much you’ll see my message🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    I don't have many FFA cases that truly nothing worked. We do have patients on 10 or more medications. For example: hydroxychloroquine, steroid injections, topical steroids, topical tacrolimus, topic tofacitinib, dutasteride, isotretinoin, cetirizine, fragrance free shampoos. Not everyone of course and not all these might be used daily. The medications you mentioned are backed by evidence too.

  • @E10l

    @E10l

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@donovanmedical9780 Thank you for repyling🙏🏻Does Tofacitinib backed by research for FFA? I saw online only case reports for LPP using Tofacitinib. What do you think about Otezla? I’ve read what you wrote on your website and it sounds you’re very skeptical of this drug for LPP. There is someone on LPP facebook group who grown almost all of her hair back using Otezla. There is also Adalimumab which can cause regrowth in FFA according to CARF newspetter. If you need to choose between Tofacitinb,Adalimumab or Otezla what would you choose(based on efficacy only)?🙏🏻🙏🏻

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@E10l I think you've misinterpreted. Otezla has limited evidence in the medical literature for LPP. That's the point. I use in my clinic from time to time so I'm not so skeptical. The key point is there is little medical studies that are published to date. For FFA, tofacitinib would have much more evidence as of Feb 2022 for FFA.

  • @E10l

    @E10l

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@donovanmedical9780 Ok, I got it. My derm wants me to start Tofacitinib in a month. She already sent the paperwork for insurance. Meanwhile she wants to give Cyclosporine last chance to see if its working(taking it already for 2 months). My derm said I’m the worst case she has ever seen in all of her long career. I feel like I’m a walking clinical trial. I’m receiving also Isotretinoin,Dutasteride,Plaquenil,prednisone, Clexane 3mg subcutaneously once a week(its shown to help Lichen Planus). Its fun to be a rare autoimmune disease 😔

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@E10l Thanks for sharing. I would need to know more about your specfiic story but in some cases that are highly refractory, we pull out all stops as the expression goes. Hypoallergenic shampoos, patch testing if appropriate, gluten and dairy free diets and rich rich veggie diets. This of course in addition to the evidence based immunomodulatory treatments. Other triggers of the immune system need to be explored (other medications, implants, devices, exposures). thanks for sharing and hope you get things under control.

  • @learncivilengineering3477
    @learncivilengineering34772 жыл бұрын

    Homeopath treatment can burnout lpp?

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    none that we confidently known yet. No published study in the last 20 years has shown that a homeopathic medication can burn out LPP. I suspect that many probably have benefit.

  • @sonaliogale4351
    @sonaliogale43512 жыл бұрын

    Hello Dr. Donovan, My son is 17 years old and developed alopecia since 2018. Recently he went through 2 biopsies which concluded Lichen Planopilaris. However his dermatologist does not agree with the report as there is no sign of inflammation so there is no treatment for him other than viviscal and anacaps supplements with Neoptide lotion. His dermatologist cannot prescribe him anything as e is unsure of which alopecia he has. His Dht levels are also very high. 4760.can you please advise? He never has itchy or burning feeling. Please help.

  • @donovanmedical9780

    @donovanmedical9780

    2 жыл бұрын

    I'd be happy to help. Please contact my office so we can arrange a time to speak or meet.

  • @sonaliogale4351

    @sonaliogale4351

    2 жыл бұрын

    Dear Dr. Donovan, Thank you very much. We have submitted application for our son. Hope to see you soon.