Are sebaceous glands atrophied in seborrheic dermatitis too? — Donovan Hair Clinic

Conclusions

The main conclusion fo the study was that SG atrophy is not specific for psoriasis or psoriatic alopecia and is found in SD too. The cause of SG atrophy in psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis is unclear, but has been attributed to the complex cytokine milieu produced by Type 1 T helper cells including tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, interleukin-2, and others Psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis share much in common and are often view as close cousins rather than distant entities. Sometimes, the two are really indistingushable and the term ‘sebopsoriasis’ is used to describe the entity.

SG atrophy is challenging for pathologists and some really challenging cases I see rest of what the pathologists feels about the sebaceous gland. In cases of SG atrophy without good evidence for scarring alopecia, most pathologists write on their final report that the ‘findings could be consistent with psoriasis and/or psoriatic alopecia.” This study reminds us that seborrheic dermatitis is indeed on that list too. Other causes of sebaceous gland atrophy including frontal fibrosing alopecia and other evolving scarring processes always need to be considered.

REFERENCE

Nagrani NS, Goldberg LJ. Sebaceous gland atrophy in seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp; a pilot study.J Cutan Pathol. 2022 Nov;49(11):988-992.

Headington JT, Gupta AK, Goldfarb MT, et al. A morphometric and histologic study of the scalp in psoriasis. Paradoxical sebaceous gland atrophy and decreased hair shaft diameters without alopecia. Arch Dermatol. 1989;125:639-642.