[Postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia: 20 cases].

INTRODUCTION

Postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia is a scarring alopecia that has been recently described by Kossard in 1994 and rarely reported in the literature.

OBSERVATIONS

We have conducted a retrospective clinical and histological study of a series of 20 cases of postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia. The results, in agreement with those in the literature, revealed the stereotyped nature of this entity.

DISCUSSION

All the clinical and histological data suggest that postmenopausal frontal fibrosing alopecia is a clinical form of lichen planopilaris occurring in elderly women. As with lichen planopilaris its physiopathology is unknown. However, in analogy with other lichen-like dermatoses, a lymphocyte T-mediated autoimmune reaction appears to play a predominant part in its genesis.