Abnormal Hair Shafts in Psoriasis on Scanning Electron Microscopy*

Summary.— We have examined hairs from psoriatic patients by scanning electron microscopy and compared them with hairs from normal subjects. Micropits were seen in normal hair cuticle cells and in those from psoriatic subjects. Their significance is unknown. Dystrophic changes of these cells are associated with the psoriatic diathesis, occurring significantly more often in hairs from unaffected as well as from affected skin of patients with psoriasis compared with controls. We confirm previous observations that the hairs growing from psoriatic plaques are significantly thinner than those growing elsewhere on psoriatic subjects and than those of normal controls. These studies confirm and expand previous evidence of hair shaft abnormalities in psoriasis.