Background:

Alopecia areata is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by sudden hair loss. Prolactin hormone is claimed to involve in pathogenesis of some certain autoimmune diseases. To investigate the role of prolactin in alopecia areata serum prolactin levels of patients with alopecia areata and healthy controls were compared.

Methods:

Fifty patients with the diagnosis of alopecia areata and 30 healthy volunteers were compared in terms of serum prolactin levels.

Results:

Hyperprolactinemia was observed in six alopecia patients and four healthy controls. There was no statistically significant difference between alopecia areata cases and healthy controls regarding serum prolactin levels.

Conclusion:

Data obtained from studies investigating other lymphocyte associated or autoimmune diseases which are claimed to be associated with prolactin points that serum prolactin levels are correlated with disease severity/activity. Patient group of this study is mainly consisted of limited/mild cases as the extensive/severe forms of the disease are less common. Regarding this, a case-control study investigating serum prolactin levels of severe/extensive cases may contribute to clarify the role of prolactin in alopecia areata.

Keywords: Alopecia areata, autoimmunity, prolactin