Evaluation of Anti-Tissue-Trans Glutamines IgA in Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common and asymptomatic disease which is characterized by rapid loss of hair in an area. Etiology of the disease is not fully understood. Several studies declare relationship between AA and celiac disease. This study aimed at evaluating the frequency distribution of celiac autoantibodies in patients with AA comparing to the control group.
This study is a case-control study. 35 subjects entered in each group. Anti-tissue-trans-glutaminase IgA (Anti-tTg IgA) were tested in all subjects. And the result was reported as positive/negative. Finally the frequency distribution of these autoantibodies were compared between two groups.
Findings: There was no significant difference between two groups based on gender and sex (P = 0.151) and (P = 0.621) respectively, via chi-square test analysis. Anti-tTg IgA was positive in one person (2.8%) In the case group. No one was positive in the control group, and therefor there is no significant difference between two groups (P = 0.314) based on chi-square test. In the case group the most common form of AA was patchy, and the most common nail involvement was Pitting. 17/1% of patients had positive family history of AA.
The study shows the frequency distribution of one of the celiac autoantibodies in patients with alopecia areata is not higher than normal population of the community of Isfahan. Therefore screening other autoantibodies such as Anti-Gliadin IgA and Anti-Gliadin IgG in these patients are recommended.