Excitement-Induced Cutaneous Bleeding (Haematidrosis-like) in a Dog

A 15-month-old intact female Pitbull was referred because of recurrent, episodic, self-limiting, excitement-induced bleeding from nontraumatised skin. No abnormalities were detected upon physical examination. Subsequently, the dog went for a walk under the direct supervision of one of the authors, became overexcited and, after approximately five minutes, bloody liquid, with a patchy distribution, appeared along the hair shafts of the face and neck. The affected skin was congested, partially blanching on diascopy and bloody liquid was oozing from the follicular openings. Urticaria, dermographism and hypertension were excluded, the complete blood count and coagulation profile were within the reference ranges and an analysis of the bloody exudate confirmed its blood components. The cutaneous bleeding of the dog followed a self-limited course, with no episodes during the last two years. Clinical and laboratory findings and the long-term evolution of this dog bear striking similarities to haematidrosis, a rare human disease of multifactorial aetiology and equivocal pathogenesis.

Independent DSG4 frameshift variants in cats with hair shaft dystrophy

Investigations of hereditary phenotypes in spontaneous mutants may help to better understand the physiological functions of the altered genes. We investigated two unrelated domestic shorthair cats with bulbous swellings of the hair shafts. The clinical, histopathological, and ultrastructural features were similar to those in mice with lanceolate hair phenotype caused by loss-of-function variants in Dsg4 encoding desmoglein 4. We sequenced the genomes from both affected cats and compared the data of each affected cat to 61 control genomes. A search for private homozygous variants in the DSG4 candidate gene revealed independent frameshift variants in each case, c.76del or p.Ile26fsLeu*4 in case no. 1 and c.1777del or p.His593Thrfs*23 in case no. 2. DSG4 is a transmembrane glycoprotein located primarily in the extracellular part of desmosomes, a complex of adhesion molecules responsible for connecting the keratin intermediate filaments of neighbouring epithelial cells. Desmosomes are essential for normal hair shaft formation. Both identified DSG4 variants in the affected cats lead to premature stop codons and truncate major parts of the open-reading frame. We assume that this leads to a complete loss of DSG4 function, resulting in an incorrect formation of the desmosomes and causing the development of defective hair shafts. Together with the knowledge on the effects of DSG4 variants in other species, our data suggest that the identified DSG4 variants cause the hair shaft dystrophy. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first report of pathogenic DSG4 variants in domestic animals.

INTRODUCING GAP IN HAIR FOLLICLE ELECTROMAGNETISM AS MECHANISM FOR THE PRESENCE OF BIPOLAR ELECTRICAL CHARGES INHERENT IN THE HUMAN HAIR SHAFT

The human hair consists of a follicle anchored in the skin and a protruding shaft, it has also been described as a miniorgan, having its own cell divisions, metabolism, and known to undergo aging stages; eventually reaching a point where the old hair sheds and a new hair growing cycle begins from the same follicular tissue. Using sophisticated magnetometers, magnetic field emitted by direct current (DC) in human hair follicles were detected and introduced in 1980. Most recently in 2015, a tabletop optical microscopy method was developed and published in 2016, thus allowing for the detection of hair follicles and shaft magnetic fields. Qualitative images are presented where the bipolar electrical property of the shaft is documented. This finding was inferred since blood tissue carries a negative charge, thus repelled by an equal charge; experiments support a positive (+) field as triggering coagulation. The shaft is repeatedly shown in experiments to express a contralateral positive side triggering. Fibrin formation is also documented by images showing intricate networks indicative of blood coagulation. In conclusion, the genesis of hair shafts bipolarity is shown resulting from a “gap” in the follicle electromagnetic fields inhibiting energy from fully engulfing the shaft.

White Piedra: An Uncommon Superficial Fungal Infection of Hair

White piedra is a superficial fungal infection of hair caused by <i>Trichosporon</i> species. It presents clinically as white nodules encasing the hair shafts and may lead to increased fragility. It can usually be differentiated easily from clinically similar conditions based on clinical and microbiologic features. We report a case of white piedra of scalp hair in a 32-year-old female caused by <i>T. ovoides</i>, diagnosed using clinical, trichoscopic, microbiologic and molecular methods. In this case, trichoscopy acted as an interface between clinical and microbiologic examination, obviating the need for hair shaft microscopy. The genus <i>Trichosporon</i> contains 6 species of clinical significance viz., <i>T. asahii, T. asteroides, T. cutaneum, T. inkin, T. mucoides</i>, and <i>T. ovoides</i>, which cannot be differentiated based on their morphologic characteristics. A genotypic identification using molecular methods helped determine the causative species. It was treated successfully with oral itraconazole and topical ketoconazole.

Quantitative mapping of human hair greying and reversal in relation to life stress

Background:Hair greying is a hallmark of aging generally believed to be irreversible and linked to psychological stress.Methods:Here, we develop an approach to profile hair pigmentation patterns (HPPs) along individual human hair shafts, producing quantifiable physical timescales of rapid greying transitions.Results:Using this method, we show white/grey hairs that naturally regain pigmentation across sex, ethnicities, ages, and body regions, thereby quantitatively defining the reversibility of greying in humans. Molecularly, grey hairs upregulate proteins related to energy metabolism, mitochondria, and antioxidant defenses. Combining HPP profiling and proteomics on single hairs, we also report hair greying and reversal that can occur in parallel with psychological stressors. To generalize these observations, we develop a computational simulation, which suggests a threshold-based mechanism for the temporary reversibility of greying.Conclusions:Overall, this new method to quantitatively map recent life history in HPPs provides an opportunity to longitudinally examine the influence of recent life exposures on human biology.Funding:This work was supported by the Wharton Fund and NIH grants GM119793, MH119336, and AG066828 (MP).

Detection of Deletion/Insertion Polymorphism Profiles from Single Human Hair Shafts

Background: Hair is a frequently encountered biological evidence in personal identification. The amount of nuclear DNA that can be extracted from a single strand of rootless hair is most limited, making the detection of short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphisms difficult. To overcome these limitations, deletion/insertion polymorphisms (DIP) as a new type of genetic marker have shown their benefits in detecting low-copy-number DNA. The Investigator DIPplex kit contains 30 biallelic autosomal DIP and amelogenin. The analysis of DIPs combines the advantages of both STR and single nucleotide polymorphism analyses. Thus, this study aimed to detect the DIP distribution of individual hair shafts from individuals.Methods and Results: DNA was extracted from the shaft of fresh, aged, and shed hair. After DNA was evaluated, the DIP profiles were detected by capillary electrophoresis. The results indicated that the amount of DNA extracted from hair roots was much higher than that from the hair shafts in the same individual for all samples. The degradation index values of DNA from the aged hair shafts were highest. It is classified to be “mildly degraded.” Compared with their hair roots, the full DIP profiles were detected for fresh hair, 70% for aged hair, and 92% for shed hair. Contrarily, except for fresh hair shafts, only three STR loci of the aged and shed strands of hair could be amplified using AmpFlSTR MiniFiler PCR Amplification Kit.Conclusions: These results indicate that the detection of DIP profile is an effective tool for personal identification from hair shafts, including aged hair.