Study of Skin Microbiome in Patients with Alopecia Areata: Case Control Study

Abstract Background Alopecia areata (AA) is a non-scarring, inflammatory, autoimmune form of hair loss caused by immunological attack on the hair follicle. Patchy alopecia areata affecting the scalp is the most common type. Alopecia areata affects nearly 2% of the general population at some point during their lifetime. Objective To study skin microbiome in patients with alopecia areata compared to healthy controls in Egyptian patients. Subjects and Method This study included 50 subjects (25 patients and 25 controls). The patients were recruited from those attending the dermatology outpatient clinic of Ain Shams university Hospital in the period between October 2021-2022. The procedures were explained to the patients and controls and informed consent was obtained. Results AA patients showed no significant difference in Staphylococcus epidermidis gene expression or in the ratio between them among the patient’s group and healthy subjects. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between the relative gene expression of Staphylococcus epidermidis and the SALT score. Staphylococcus epidermidis gene expression was not significantly correlated with age or duration of last attack. Conclusion Quantifying the relative gene expression of Staphylococcus especially Staphylococcus epidermidis targeting the 16S region may help to assess the severity of alopecia areata as disequilibrium of the microorganisms may be involved in this disease severity.