Alopecia Totalis in Father and Daughter

Cockayne1stated in 1933 that the tendency toward loss of hair is closely linked to the genes for dark hair. He cited Sabouraud as having reported a familial history of loss of hair in 22 of 81 cases of alopecia areata. We think that the cases here reported furnish evidence of a hereditary tendency toward complete loss of hair on the scalp and body. REPORT OF CASES Case 1.— Mrs. M. S., a white woman aged 32, was seen by us on Oct. 15, 1941 because of a complete loss of hair of the entire body. It had begun in March 1941 as a typical alopecia areata involving the left parietal region of the scalp. This spread rapidly and involved the entire scalp, eyebrows, axillas, pubes and extremities. She had been under treatment with ultraviolet irradiation and application of phenol without success for three and one-half months before we