Tamara Thomas

Urban Health Today

Itching may be a reliable indicator of inflammation in central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, according to a poster presented at the Skin of Color Society Scientific Symposium.Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is scarring baldness that predominantly affects Black women. It is one of the most common causes of hair loss among women with skin of color, especially women of African descent.Despite its association with hair grooming practices, CCCA is caused by inflammation and scarring of the scalp. For this study, Aditi Gadre, MS, and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University conducted a study to understand whether itching was a sign of inflammation in patients with this type of alopecia, as anecdotally, these patients often come in with itching.The study included 23 Black women with CCCA, and 26 Women without CCCA were used as control. The researchers stratified the women by itch frequency and hair washing frequency.The researchers observed more reports of itchy scalp in the patients with CCCA compared with the control group, although the difference was not statistically significant.Gadre and colleagues also found higher levels of cytokines, such as interleukin-1B, in patients with CCCA, where increased scalp itch was observed. However, itching of the scalp was not associated with any cytokines tested in the control patients.In addition, the researchers found that patients with CCCA who had itchy scalps had lower levels of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), a naturally occurring protein that blocks the inflammatory effects of interleukin-1 (IL-1). They also found that patients who shampooed their hair more often had lower levels of IL-1RA, but the shampooing frequency was not associated with scalp itching in patients with CCCA.&ldquo;We should really pay attention when someone with CCCA who has itching comes in complaining about that as a sign of ongoing inflammation,&rdquo; Gadre told Healio. &ldquo;If a woman who has known CCCA comes in with an itchy scalp, that could mean their disease might be active, and we can go ahead and give them steroid injections or consider stepping up therapy further.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Source: <a href="https://www.healio.com/news/dermatology/20230317/itch-may-indicate-inflammation-in-central-centrifugal-cicatricial-alopecia">Healio</a>

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New Study Sheds Light on Itching as a Potential Marker of CCCA Inflammation

Alopecia

Itching may be a reliable indicator of inflammation in central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA).

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