• A 14-year-old girl was evaluated for patchy hair loss present from early childhood. Her mother was found to have a similar condition. When studied in transverse section, biopsy specimens from both women showed marked anagen-telogen transformation that circumstantially appears to be irreversible. Preservation of telogen epithelium with absence of inflammation and scarring readily separate focal familial alopecia from the pseudopelade state and from localized alopecia areata. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a new familial disorder causing focal alopecia.
(Arch Dermatol 1987;123:234-237)