Lichen planopilaris: a case report

Viktor Migunov1

1Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine

 Abstract

Background. Lichen planopilaris is an immune-mediated scarring alopecia. The disease usually manifests as pruritic or painful multifocal patches of alopecia with perifollicular erythema and follicular hyperkeratosis. The course of lichen planopilaris is usually unpredictable, and currently available treatment options do not lead to hair regrowth, unless the treatment is started at the very beginning stages of the disease.

Case report. In this case, a 35-year old female was diagnosed with lichen planopilaris. At the beginning of the treatment with topical steroids, clinical improvement was observed, and after that, sudden clinical deterioration followed. This clinical case shows the importance of systemic treatment at the very beginning stages of lichen planopilaris.

Discussion. The treatment of lichen planopilaris is challenging because of relapsing-progressive pattern of the disease. At this moment, there is no standardized therapeutic approach for this disease and treatment often relies on the physician’s personal experience, although there are some proposed therapeutic strategies.

Keywords. Lichen planopilaris, scarring alopecia, treatment.