Congenital Hypertrichosis - Types

Before taking a look into the other live cases of ‘Hypertrichosis’ let’s take a dig to the different types of ‘Hypertrichosis’ —

Different Types of Werewolf Syndrome

Hypertrichosis is classified into 2 types — ‘Congenital Hypertrichosis’ and ‘Acquired Hypertrichosis’.

Congenital Hypertrichosis is characterized by the overproduction of fine, soft and non-pigmented hair and continues through life. This condition normally occurs due to some flaws at the course of pregnancy. The lanugo, which refers to the fine hair layer covering the fetus, normally falls off on the eighth month. If this fails to happen, the hair continues to grow. Congenital Hypertrichosis can be sub-divided into 5 types as follows

Naevoid Hyperthrichosis: in this case hair grows excessively on one part of the body surrounded by normal hair.

Hypertrichosis Lanuginosa: It is visible at the birth time with the infant covered in thin ‘lanugo hair’. In a normal condition, lanugo hair sheds before birth — but for a person suffering from congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa, the lanugo hair remains even after birth.

Generalized Hypertrichosis: Overproduction of hair is visible on the upper part of the body and face. The palms, soles and mucous membranes, however stay unaffected.

Circumscribed Hypertrichosis: Thick vellus hair present on the upper extremities is associated with congenital circumscribed hypertrichosis. This type of syndrome is restricted to certain specific parts of the body, in this case the upper part of the body. Hair elbow syndrome is one of the examples of congenital circumscribed hypertrichosis. This syndrome develops with birth and grows with ageing, only to lapse at puberty.

Terminal Hypertrichosis: Terminal Hypertrichosis is defined by the presence of completely pigmented terminal hair, covering the entire body. The condition is accompanied by gingival hyperplasia. This term is very much relative to ‘Werewolf Syndrome’, due to the dark-thick hair that grows.