By Disease Name > Trichothiodystrophy

Trichothiodystrophy

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hair:

•from Greek tricho, hair _+ thio, sulfur + dys, faulty + trophe, nourishment
•important clinical marker = hair with markedly reduced sulfur (amino acid = cysteine)content
•under microscope – trichoschisis (clean fractures)
•under polarized light – “tiger tail hair”
•grossly – short sparse brittle hair

 

clinical:

•= a group of disorders;  autosomal recessive
•(P)IBIDS – (Photosensitivity), Ichthyosis, Brittle hair, Intellectual impairment, Decreased fertility, Short stature
•(the subgroup that overlaps with XP has a mutation in the basal transcription factor TFIIH – this factor plays a role in nucleotide excision repair)
•ddx:  CIE, lamellar ichthyosis, Netherton’s syndrome
•ddx for short sparse brittle hair
•trichothiodystrophy
•pili torti
•ectodermal dysplasia
•monilethrix

 

 

Trichothiodystrophy = “tiger tail hair” under polarized light

vs.

Pili annulati = alternating areas of light (normal) and dark (gas-filled) hair under normal light microscope

 

 

mnemonic:            

•at the trichothiodystrophy zoo:  they tried to give sulfur to the tigers and the polar bears, but it caused decreased fertility, and the children they finally had (named PIBIDS and IBIDS) had short stature and intellectual impairment

 

 

see Ichthyoses, Hair Shaft Abnormalities