New from PubMed:

Researchers in the department of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine discovered a possible link between deposition of mucin and underlying systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in patients with alopecia areata. A biopsy from a 27-year-old African-American female patient presenting with both SLE and alopecia areata revealed a marked increase in mucin in the deep dermis and subcutis, which led researchers to investigate the relationship between mucin, SLE, and alopecia areata. After comparing alopecia biopsies of SLE and non-SLE patients, the researchers concluded that marked deposition of mucin might relate to underlying SLE in alopecia areata patients, and can serve as a diagnostic clue for alopecia patients that exhibit increased dermal mucin.

Read the full abstract on PubMed