Study regarding the microscopic aspects of pilo-sebaceous units after antiandrogen treatment in hirsute women.

AIM

To analyze the morphological data of pilo-sebaceous units in hirsute women before and 12 months after the antiandrogen treatment with Cyproterone acetate (CPA) 100 mg÷day.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fourteen female patients with idiopathic hirsutism that followed an antiandrogen treatment with CPA were biopsied from the androgen-dependent area of the chin before and 12 months after the treatment. Routine sections were stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin, Masson, Van Gieson, Sirius red and picric-indigocarmine, while additional sections were immunostained for S100 protein and vimentin. Electron microscopy was performed in two cases with Langerhans cell hyperplasia.

RESULTS

On biopsies-stained sections, an increased number of hair follicles, the deeper part of the epithelial sheath of the hair follicle with epithelial buds, hyperplasia of sebaceous glands, and no inflammatory infiltrate were noticed. Langerhans cells identified with S100 protein and vimentin were normal in terms of numbers and distribution. After the administration of the treatment, atrophy of the pilo-sebaceous units was visible in nine (64.2%) cases, while inflammatory infiltrate and cells included in the vacuoles of the basal layer of the epidermis became apparent. In six of the cases treated with antiandrogens, a marked hyperplasia of Langerhans cells was noticed. In conclusion, the benefit of antiandrogen treatments is supported by atrophy of the hair follicle and the sebaceous glands. The activation of Langerhans cells associated with inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis and hair follicles could be considered as a local consequence of the involution process of hair follicles after the administration of the treatment.