Androgenetic alopecia present in the majority of patients hospitalized with COVID-19: The “Gabrin sign”

Abstract: 680 Research Letters Androgenetic alopecia present in the majority of patients hospitalized with COVID-19: The ‘‘Gabrin sign’’ To the Editor: Dr Frank Gabrin was the first American physician to die of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 infection. Dr Gabrin suffered from androgenetic alopecia and was a long-term survivor of bilateral testicular cancer.1 The association between SARS-CoV-2 infectiveness and the androgen pathway has been previously described.2 Androgen-mediated SARS-CoV-2 J AM ACAD DERMATOL AUGUST 2020 vulnerability may help explain the disproportioned mortality rate among men.3 We present further epidemiologic evidence that androgen sensitivity might be associated with severe symptoms leading to hospitalization due to COVID-19. Previously, we reported a possible association between male patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and androgenetic alopecia (AGA); however, the study was limited by its population size of 41 men.4 In this communication, we present additional data from patients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted Fig 1. Epidemiologic characteristics of 175 individuals hospitalized due to severe symptoms of COVID-19 from March 23, 2020, to April 12, 2020. A, The study population had male-to-female ratio of 2.3:1. B, Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) was present in 42% of the women and in 79% of the men. C, Notably, the violin plots demonstrate there was an older age distribution in the women compared with the men. AGA severity was categorized by specific sex scales: HamiltoneNorwood scale (HNS) for men and Ludwig scale (LS) for women into groups: ‘‘no alopecia’’ for HNS ¼ 1 or LS ¼ 0; ‘‘moderate AGA’’ for HNS ¼ 2 or LS ¼ 1; or ‘‘severe AGA’’ for HNS [2 or LS [1. D, Although age was widely proportional among patients with no alopecia, moderate AGA, and severe AGA, there was a slight tendency for younger age in men with moderate AGA and in women with no alopecia compared with the respective severe AGA groups. The white circle represents the median, the bar in the center represents the interquartile range, and the thin lines represent the 95% confidence interval. The wider sections of the violin plot represent a higher probability that members of the population will take on the given value and the thinner sections represent a lower probability. J AM ACAD DERMATOL VOLUME 83, NUMBER 2 Research Letters 681 Fig 2. Possible targets of the androgen pathway for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) prophylaxis and adjuvant therapy. Antiandrogen therapies include gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH ) analogs (degarelix, goserelin, leuprolide, leuprorelin, nafarelin), which stop luteinizing hormone (LH ) secretion and induce chemical castration. Testosterone is regarded as the main androgen hormone, and its production is inhibited by ketoconazole, an inhibitor of steroidogenesis. Dutasteride and finasteride, 5- -reductase inhibitors, target synthesis of dihydrotestosterone, the most potent intrinsic androgen hormone. Androgen receptor inhibitors may be steroidal (abiraterone, cyproterone, nomegestrol, or spironolactone), or nonsteroidal (apalutamide, bicalutamide, darolutamide, enzalutamide, flutamide, or nilutamide). Transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS2) blockers include bromhexine, camostat, and nafamostat. ACE, Angiotensin converting enzyme. due to severity criteria (mainly low peripheral oxygen saturation) to 3 tertiary hospitals in Madrid, Spain. The patients were randomly..