Journal of

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Background and Aim: Cicatricial alopecia is characterized by permanent destruction of the pilosebaceous unit, leading to irreversible hair loss, and has primary and secondary types. Primary type, based on predominant inflammatory infiltration in histology, is divided to neutrophilic, lymphocytic and mix types. Decalvans folliculitis, dissecting cellulitis and acne keloidalis are 3 subtypes of neutrophilic group. In this study frequency of each subtype and the distribution of age, gender and duration of disease have been reviewed.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed on patients with clinical diagnosis of cicatricial alopecia and histologic confirmation referred to Razi hospital in Tehran in 2005-2009.

Results: Of 135 patients with mean (mean±SD) age of 32±10.6 years, 71.9% were male and 28.1% were female. The diagnoses included decalvans folliulitis (72.6%) with mean age of 31.89 years, dissecting cellulitis (25.0%) with mean age of 32.4 years and acne keloidalis (1.5%) with mean age of 52 years. The mean duration of disease was 4.2±3.9 years (4.08 years in male and 4.7 years in female). The mean duration of disease in decalvans folliulitis was 4.7, in dissecting cellulitis was 1.9 and in acne keloidalis was 17.5 years.

Conclusion: Neutrophilic scarring alopecia is more common in men and in the third decade of age and the most common type is decalvans folliulitis.

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Background and Aim: Pemphigus is a chronic autoimmune blistering disease characterized by intraepidermal blisters.
These blisters damage the skin barrier and increase the risk of life-threatening infections. Nasal colonization of
Staphylococcus aureus can increase the risk of infections and delay the wound healing process.The aim of this study was to
determine the frequency of staphylococcal carriers in hospitalized patients with pemphigus.
Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, medical records of 72 hospitalized patients with pemphigus in the
period from March 2013 to March 2014 were reviewed.Samples were collected from anterior nares and cultured at the
time of admission and one week after hospitalization for evaluation of S. aureus colonization and Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) types.
Results: Forty-five patients (62.5%) were male and 27 patients (37.5%) were female. The frequency of S. aureus
carriers was 58.3%. Thirty patients had colonization at the time of hospital admission among them, 22 (73.3%) patients
had MRSA. In forty (55.6%) patients colonization were found one week after hospitalization. Thirty-three (82.5%) patients
in this group were MRSA positive. There was no significant difference between S. aureus colonization at the time of
admission and one week after hospitalization (P>0.05).
Conclusion: S. aureus and MRSA carriers (communityacquired and hospital-acquired carriers) were prevalent
among patients with pemphigus. With identifiction and isolation of carriers of S. aureus in pemphigus patients, not
only could prevent spreading S. aureus and MRSA associated infections, bul also would facilitate wound healing. More
robust studies are required to assess the role of potential riskfactors.

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Background and Aim: Hair loss is a chronic and frequent dermatological condition. It negatively affects the psychological status, social relationships and daily activities of the patients The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalnce of depression in women with hair loss in a referral dematology clinic in Yazd, Iran.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from March 21 to June 21, 2015. Fifty-four women suffering from hair loss referred to the Shahid Sadoughi Dermatology Clinic in Yazd were recruited. Depression assessed by using the Beck Depression Inventory. Data were analyzed using versioin 18 of PASW (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and Fisher's exact test was used for comparing proportions in different groups.

Results: The mean ± standard deviation score of depression was 16.1±13.5. The study showed that 67% of hair loss patients were experiencing depression. While not statitically significant, frequency of depression seems to be associated with the level of education (P=0.052). There was no associatioin between the frequency of depression and age, marital status, previous medical history, or drug use.

Conclusion: This study showed that depression is highly frequent among women with hair loss. Beauty is crucial for most women and feeling the lack of beauty and not being attractive decrease their social interaction. More effective treatment of hair loss may improve depression and community relations, and consequently result in higher quality of life in a hair loss patient.

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Background and Aim: Hirsutism as a clinical presentation of hyperandrogenism has a negative impact on the mental health and quality of life. Therefore, determination of its prevalence and associated factors in communities are important. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hirsutism and its associated factors in dormitory students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences in Semana, Iran.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all of the female students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences dormitory were given a questionnaire which consists of three parts. The first two sections was designed to collect the demographic data and medical history including past medical history, drug history, menstrual condition and familial history of hirsutism. The third section included the grading scale of Ferrimen-Gallwey, that contains images of various parts of the body and hair growth. Participants were asked to determine their hair growth on the pictures. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) version 19. Chi squared test was used for comparison of proportions in different groups.

Results: From 330 participants, 119 students (36.1%) complained from hirsutism. 105 (31.8%) patients had mild and 14 (4.3%) students had moderate hirsutism. There was a significant correlation between hirsutism and irregular menstrual cycles, positive familial history of hirsutism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, polycystic ovary, hypothyroidism, use of danazol, and hoarseness (P<0.05).

Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of hirsutism in dormitory students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences. More clinical evaluation is suggested to determine various forms of hirsutism and the underlying conditions.

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Background and Aim: Alopecia is one of the most common chronic skin diseases and is one of the most important predictors of psychological distress and depression. Considering the importance of this issue to public health, this study evaluated the impact of alopecia on increasing depression in the affected population

Methods: A meta-analysis was performed for relevant articles in scientific databases including SID, Science direct and PubMed (Medline). Reference lists of identified articles were reviewed for additional articles. Heterogeneity of study was checked using I² index. Data were analyzed using the Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA) software.

Results: The overall prevalence of depression in patients with alopecia in Iran was %60.3 (%95 Cl %51.4-%68.5) during 2001-2015. The highest prevalence of depression was recorded in Khorramabad in 2007, %66.7 (%95 Cl: %56.3-%75.6) and the lowest prevalence of depression was found in Mashhad in 2010, %47.3 (%95 Cl: %41.7-%53).

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the prevalence of depression in patients with alopecia is high and therefore appropriate therapies and the need for psychological counseling for these patients seems to be necessary.

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Background and Aim: The present study aims to assess the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with psoriasis referring to Razi Hospital.
 

Methods: Participants were assessed for demographic characteristics, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), disease duration, place of residence, education level, and were also evaluated using the Stop-Bang and Berlin questionnaires to assess the risk of obstructive sleep apnea. The high and low-risk groups for obstructive sleep apnea were compared regarding these parameters.
 

Results: Based on the Stop-Bang criteria, 43 individuals (41.3%) had moderate risk, and 23 individuals (22.1%) had high risk of obstructive sleep apnea. According to the Berlin questionnaire, 48 individuals (46.2%) were at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea. The mean age of individuals with high risk of obstructive sleep apnea according to the STOP-BANG criteria was significantly higher than those with moderate risk (mean=58.3, standard deviation=10.6, compared to mean=48.1, standard deviation=16.1, P = 0.039) and low risk (mean=41.7, standard deviation=17.8, P< 0.001). Additionally, BMI differed significantly among the three groups based on the Stop-BANG criteria, with higher BMI observed in individuals at higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea (P<0.05). BMI was significantly higher in individuals with high risk of obstructive sleep apnea according to the Berlin criteria compared to those with low risk (mean 31.1 versus mean 26, P<0.001).
 

Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight obstructive sleep apnea as a comorbidity associated with psoriasis.