Oral Trichogranuloma in an Asian 12-Year-Old Female With Trichotillomania.

Pilonidal sinus is an acquired chronic inflammatory condition associated with the penetration of hair fragments into the skin. In the pathogenesis of most of these cases, a traumatic event initiates the process allowing the introduction of the hairs into the skin. We report an unusual case of acquired pilonidal sinus as a consequence of the unconscious habit of chewing on the hairs in a 12-year-old girl. Although most commonly located in the gluteal cleft, it has been reported in several areas of the body (including face), but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the oral cavity. Our case presented as a palatal and vestibular fistula in a patient who suffered from an undiagnosed peculiar form of hair pulling disorder that involved hair chewing but not trichophagia.

White matter volume alterations in hair-pulling disorder (trichotillomania).

Trichotillomania (TTM) is a disorder characterized by repetitive hair-pulling resulting in hair loss. Key processes affected in TTM comprise affective, cognitive, and motor functions. Emerging evidence suggests that brain matter aberrations in fronto-striatal and fronto-limbic brain networks and the cerebellum may characterize the pathophysiology of TTM. The aim of the present voxel-based morphometry (VBM) study was to evaluate whole brain grey and white matter volume alteration in TTM and its correlation with hair-pulling severity. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (3 T) data were acquired from 29 TTM patients and 28 age-matched healthy controls (CTRLs). All TTM participants completed the Massachusetts General Hospital Hair-Pulling Scale (MGH-HPS) to assess illness/pulling severity. Using whole-brain VBM, between-group differences in regional brain volumes were measured. Additionally, within the TTM group, the relationship between MGH-HPS scores, illness duration and brain volumes were examined. All data were corrected for multiple comparisons using family-wise error (FWE) correction at p < 0.05. Patients with TTM showed larger white matter volumes in the parahippocampal gyrus and cerebellum compared to CTRLs. Estimated white matter volumes showed no significant association with illness duration or MGH-HPS total scores. No significant between-group differences were found for grey matter volumes. Our observations suggest regional alterations in cortico-limbic and cerebellar white matter in patients with TTM, which may underlie deficits in cognitive and affective processing. Such volumetric white matter changes may precipitate impaired cortico-cerebellar communication leading to a reduced ability to control hair pulling behavior.

Formation of a temporary gastrostomy to aid delivery of gastric trichobezoar and decrease incidence of wound infection.

Trichobezoars are relatively uncommon problems with a known female predominance. We report two female children with gastric bezoars. Main presenting symptoms were abdominal distension, weight loss and anaemia. Upper abdominal mass was palpable in both. Diagnosis was suspected on initial abdominal radiograph and ultrasound scan then confirmed by upper endoscopy. No bowel extension was recorded in either case. We report here a modification of the surgical technique in which the gastrostomy cut edges were anchored to the laparotomy skin. This modification aided easy and complete delivery of hair balls avoiding any spillage or wound contamination.

Tricobezoar de estómago / Gastric Trichobezoar Rapunzel Syndrome

Trichobezoars are an unusual pathology that appears generally in young adolescents associated with psychiatric disorders. The clinical presentation is very varied. The diagnosis is suspected by the clinical records of teen agers with trichophagia and trichotillomania and the digestive disorders are confirmed by the results of the endoscopy, the same as with images toward the therapeutic management. Undowbtly the treatment is surgical, and continuation with the psychiatric treatment is essential to avoid a recidival of the disease. Bezoar is a concretion formed in the alimentary tract, and according to the substances forming the ball, we find trichobezoar (foodball). The Rapunzel syndrome is an unusual complication of individual bezoar. When the trichobezoar located in the stomach extends through the pylorus into the small intestine and the right colon, is known as Rapunzel syndrome, that is an extremely rare gastric condition in humans. It is a rare form of trichobezoar, occurring in psychiatric patients with the trichobezoar (hairball) located in the stomach. The syndrome is named after the long haired girl Rapunzel in the fairy tale of the brothers Grimm. Most bezoars in teen agers are trichobezoars from swallowed hair. A 28-year-old patient is presented, with abdominal pain and vomiting, on the general physical examination the patient revealed a severe weight loss. Later on, through a gastrostomy, appeared the trichobezoar, being removed with good postsurgical resullts

Trichoscopy of alopecia areata: An update.

The diagnosis of alopecia areata is usually based on clinical manifestations. However, there are several hair and scalp disorders that share similar clinical features with alopecia areata, such as tinea capitis, trichotillomania or traction alopecia. Trichoscopy as a fast, non-invasive and easy-to-perform technique may help to identify subtle details and establish the correct diagnosis. The aim of this review is to present the spectrum of trichoscopic findings in alopecia areata. A systematic review of the published work was performed by searching the PubMed, Scopus and EBSCO databases, complemented by a thorough hand search of reference lists. Of 427 articles retrieved, 30 studies were eligible for quantitative analysis. The reported features of alopecia areata were: yellow dots (6-100% patients), short vellus hairs (34-100%), black dots (0-84%), broken hairs (0-71%) and exclamation mark hairs (12-71%). Tapered hairs (5-81%) were reported in few studies, but a relatively high frequency of this finding in alopecia areata may indicate their important role in the differential diagnosis of hair loss. Rarely reported features, which include upright regrowing hairs (11-96%), pigtail (circle) hairs (4-61%) and Pohl-Pinkus constrictions (2-10%), may also be helpful in the diagnosis of alopecia areata. There is no pathognomonic trichoscopic marker for alopecia areata and the most common trichoscopic features are not the most specific. Therefore, the diagnosis should be based on the coexistence of several trichoscopic findings, not on the presence of a single feature.

The relationship between microstructural alterations of the brain and clinical measurements in children and adolescents with hair pulling disorder.

Several studies have evaluated gray matter abnormalities and white matter integrity in adults with hair pulling disorder (HPD). However, no prior studies have defined the relationship between neuroimaging parameters and clinical measurements in children and adolescents with HPD. The purposes of this study were to determine the correlation between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indices and clinical measurements in children and adolescents with HPD, and to compare HPD patients with age- and sex- matched healthy controls (HC). Pediatric HPD patients (n = 9) and HC subjects (n = 10), aged 9-17 years, were recruited. Three-dimensional T1-weighted structural MRI (3D T1W) and diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) scans were obtained for each subject. Gray matter and white matter volumes were calculated from 3D T1W. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and average diffusion coefficients (Dav) were mapped from DTI. Voxel-based and region-of-interest correlations between MRI indices and clinical measurements were analyzed. In addition, two-sample t-tests were used to compare voxel-based tissue volumes, FA, and Dav maps between the two groups. Alterations in both brain tissue volume and white matter integrity were associated with symptom severity, especially in the precuneus, anterior cingulate, temporal cortex, and frontal cortex regions. FA values in HPD patients were significantly higher than those observed in HC subjects, particularly in the cerebellum and cuneus regions. Alterations of brain tissue volumes and microstructural changes are associated with severity of clinical symptoms in children and adolescents with HPD. Fractional anisotropy is the most sensitive method to distinguish pediatric HPD patients from healthy children. The results of this study can facilitate use of MRI indices to follow the transition from pediatric HPD to adult HPD.

Tricobezoar gigante sin clínica obstructiva / Giant trichobezoar with no clinical signs of obstruction

No disponible

Obsessive-compulsive skin disorders: a novel classification based on degree of insight.

Individuals with obsessive-compulsive features frequently visit dermatologists for complaints of the skin, hair or nails, and often progress towards a chronic relapsing course due to the challenge associated with accurate diagnosis and management of their psychiatric symptoms. The current DSM-5 formally recognizes body dysmorphic disorder, trichotillomania, neurotic excoriation and body focused repetitive behavior disorder as psychodermatological disorders belonging to the category of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. However there is evidence that other relevant skin diseases such as delusions of parasitosis, dermatitis artefacta, contamination dermatitis, AIDS phobia, trichotemnomania and even lichen simplex chronicus possess prominent obsessive-compulsive characteristics that do not necessarily fit the full diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5. Therefore, to increase dermatologists' awareness of this unique group of skin disorders with OCD features, we propose a novel classification system called Obsessive-Compulsive Insight Continuum. Under this new classification system, obsessive-compulsive skin manifestations are categorized along a continuum based on degree of insight, from minimal insight with delusional obsessions to good insight with minimal obsessions. Understanding the level of insight is thus an important first step for clinicians who routinely interact with these patients.

Tricotilomanía: tratamiento psicodinámico de un caso / Trichotillomania: a case study in psychodynamic treatment / Tricotil·lomania: tractament psicodinàmic d’un cas

Se presenta la psicopatología de la tricotilomanía y otras conductas repetitivas centradas en el cuerpo, así como las claves de su tratamiento a través de la psicoterapia psicoanalítica breve aplicada a un caso. Se obtienen varias conclusiones: la paciente tricotilomaníaca, a pesar de aparentar baja mentalización, muestra una actividad imaginaria que permite el acceso al análisis de sus sueños; la fijación a un conflicto oral reprimido, que atañe al proceso arcaico de separación, formación del yo y diferenciación psique/soma, es el núcleo principal del trastorno; para el acceso y elaboración de los contenidos inconscientes es importante un trabajo terapéutico sobre la diada madre-hija (AU)

The psychopathology of trichotillomania and other repetitive behaviors focused on the body is presented. We describe the keys to their treatment, through a brief process of psychoanalytic psychotherapy applied to a case. Several conclusions are reached: the trichotillomaniac patient, despite appearing to have a low degree of mentalization, displays imaginary activity that allows for access to the analysis of his or her dreams; the fixation on a repressed oral conflict, associated with the archaic process of separation (on formation of the Ego and of the psyche / soma differentiation), is the core of this disorder; in order to help the patient access and process unconscious contents, it is important to undertake therapeutic work on the mother-daughter dyad (AU)

Es presenta la psicopatologia de la tricotil·lomania i altres con­ductes repetitives centrades en el cos, així com les claus del seu tractament mitjançant la psicopatologia psicoanalítica breu aplicada a un cas. S’obtenen diverses conclusions: la pacient tricotil·lomaníaca, tot i aparentar baixa mentalització, mostra una activitat imaginària que permet l’accés a l’anàlisi dels seus somnis; la fixació a un conflicte oral reprimit, que pertoca al procés arcaic de separació, formació del jo i diferenciació psique/soma, és el nucli principal del trastorn; per l’accés i l’elaboració dels continguts inconscients, és important un treball terapèutic sobre la díada mare-filla

Scalp dermoscopy or trichoscopy.

Scalp dermoscopy or `trichoscopy' represents a valuable, noninvasive technique for the evaluation of patients with hair loss that allows for magnified visualization of the hair and scalp skin. It may be performed with a manual dermoscope (×10 magnification) or a videodermoscope (up to ×1,000 magnification). In particular, trichoscopy enhances the diagnosis of androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, telogen effluvium, trichotillomania, congenital triangular alopecia, scarring alopecia, tinea capitis and hair shaft disorders. This method is simple, quick and easy to perform, reduces the need for scalp biopsy, is well accepted by patients, and is useful for monitoring treatment and follow-up.

A comparison of brain volume and cortical thickness in excoriation (skin picking) disorder and trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) in women.

Skin picking disorder (SPD) and trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder, or HPD) significantly overlap in terms of clinical features. However, few studies have directly compared structural brain data in these disorders. The aim of this study was to compare volumes of brain structures and cortical thickness in patients with SPD and HPD, and determine involvement of fronto-striatal pathways. Seventeen female SPD, 17 HPD and 15 healthy age-matched controls underwent clinical assessment and structural MRI imaging. Group differences were determined in brain volume and cortical thickness, controlling for illness severity. Participants with SPD had greater volume of the ventral striatum bilaterally; and reduced cortical thickness in right hemisphere frontal areas, and greater thickness of the cuneus bilaterally compared to HPD and control participants. HPD participants demonstrated reduced thickness of the right parahippocampal gyrus compared to SPD and control participants. The findings here are partially consistent with previous structural work in SPD, and suggest some differences in the neurobiology of SPD and HPD. The more extensive involvement of the ventral striatum in SPD may suggest greater involvement of the reward system, while the more extensive involvement of the parahippocampal gyrus in HPD may be consistent with the dissociative symptoms often seen in these patients.

Impaired response inhibition and excess cortical thickness as candidate endophenotypes for trichotillomania.

Trichotillomania is characterized by repetitive pulling out of one's own hair. Impaired response inhibition has been identified in patients with trichotillomania, along with gray matter density changes in distributed neural regions including frontal cortex. The objective of this study was to evaluate impaired response inhibition and abnormal cortical morphology as candidate endophenotypes for the disorder. Subjects with trichotillomania (N = 12), unaffected first-degree relatives of these patients (N = 10), and healthy controls (N = 14), completed the Stop Signal Task (SST), a measure of response inhibition, and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Group differences in SST performance and cortical thickness were explored using permutation testing. Groups differed significantly in response inhibition, with patients demonstrating impaired performance versus controls, and relatives occupying an intermediate position. Permutation cluster analysis revealed significant excesses of cortical thickness in patients and their relatives compared to controls, in right inferior/middle frontal gyri (Brodmann Area, BA 47 & 11), right lingual gyrus (BA 18), left superior temporal cortex (BA 21), and left precuneus (BA 7). No significant differences emerged between groups for striatum or cerebellar volumes. Impaired response inhibition and an excess of cortical thickness in neural regions germane to inhibitory control, and action monitoring, represent vulnerability markers for trichotillomania. Future work should explore genetic and environmental associations with these biological markers.

Trichoscopy: an update.

Hair and scalp disorders represent a substantial complaint in most dermatologists' daily practice. Trichoscopy is a simple and easy-to-perform technique that has been utilized for diagnosis and management of these patients. The interest for this technique had increased in the last years, and knowledge had expanded. This article reviews the most important dermoscopic patterns in normal Caucasian and African scalp, as well as in the most common trichological conditions.

New trichoscopy findings in trichotillomania: flame hairs, V-sign, hook hairs, hair powder, tulip hairs.

Differential diagnosis of trichotillomania is often difficult in clinical practice. Trichoscopy (hair and scalp dermoscopy) effectively supports differential diagnosis of various hair and scalp diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of trichoscopy in diagnosing trichotillomania. The study included 370 patients (44 with trichotillomania, 314 with alopecia areata and 12 with tinea capitis). Statistical analysis revealed that the main and most characteristic trichoscopic findings of trichotillomania are: irregularly broken hairs (44/44; 100% of patients), v-sign (24/44; 57%), flame hairs (11/44; 25%), hair powder (7/44; 16%) and coiled hairs (17/44; 39%). Flame hairs, v-sign, tulip hairs, and hair powder were newly identified in this study. In conclusion, we describe here specific trichoscopy features, which may be applied in quick, non-invasive, in-office differential diagnosis of trichotillomania.

Disordered reward processing and functional connectivity in trichotillomania: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The neurobiology of Trichotillomania is poorly understood, although there is increasing evidence to suggest that TTM may involve alterations of reward processing. The current study represents the first exploration of reward processing in TTM and the first resting state fMRI study in TTM. We incorporate both event-related fMRI using a monetary incentive delay (MID) task, and resting state fMRI, using two complementary resting state analysis methodologies (functional connectivity to the nucleus accumbens and dual regression within a reward network) in a pilot study to investigate differences in reward processing between TTM and healthy controls (HC). METHODS: 21 unmedicated subjects with TTM and 14 HC subjects underwent resting state fMRI scans. A subset (13 TTM and 12 HC) also performed the MID task. RESULTS: For the MID task, TTM subjects showed relatively decreased nucleus accumbens (NAcc) activation to reward anticipation, but relative over-activity of the NAcc to both gain and loss outcomes. Resting state functional connectivity analysis showed decreased connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) to the NAcc in TTM. Dual regression analysis of a reward network identified through independent component analysis (ICA) also showed decreased dACC connectivity and more prominently decreased basolateral amygdala connectivity within the reward network in TTM. CONCLUSIONS: Disordered reward processing at the level of NAcc, also involving decreased modulatory input from the dACC and the basolateral amygdala may play a role in the pathophysiology of TTM.

Hair and scalp dermatoscopy.

Dermatoscopy is a noninvasive diagnostic tool that allows the recognition of morphologic structures not visible by the naked eye. Trichoscopy (scalp dermatoscopy and videodermatoscopy) is useful for the diagnosis and follow-up of hair and scalp disorders. However, it is not widely used in the management of hair disorders. This review provides updated information from the literature and our experience on the dermoscopic features of the most common hair and scalp disorders. This will enable dermatologists to make fast diagnoses of tinea capitis and alopecia areata, distinguish early androgenetic alopecia from telogen effluvium, and differentiate scarring from nonscarring alopecia.

Recurrent Rapunzel syndrome.

Rapunzel syndrome is a rare condition that occurs when gastric trichobezoar extends beyond the pylorus and into the bowel. Recurrent Rapunzel syndrome is an extremely rare entity, with only two cases reported in the literature so far. Here, we present a case of recurrent Rapunzel syndrome in a 15-year-old girl. She underwent laparotomy twice in five years to extract trichobezoars measuring 58 cm and 62 cm. In both stances when Rapunzel syndrome was diagnosed, a tuft of hair extending from the stomach toward the jejunum was observed. The patient underwent psychiatric consultation and supervision after the first laparotomy; however, a lack of follow-up resulted in recurrence. We conclude that complete removal of trichobezoar and psychiatric consultation, coupled with long-term follow-up, are essential to prevent recurrence.