The Association Between Number of Follicular Stelae and Severity and Treatment Response of Alopecia Areata Cases: A Retrospective Study

This retrospective study involving 142 patients with alopecia areata (AA) found a significant correlation between the number of follicular stelae and both patient age and disease severity. Specifically, patients with more severe AA (75%-100% scalp hair loss and alopecia universalis) had a higher number of follicular stelae compared to those with less severe AA (0%-25% scalp hair loss). However, there was no significant correlation between the number of follicular stelae and treatment response. This study is the first to evaluate the relationship between follicular stelae count and AA severity.