lek. Karolina Krawczyk-Wołoszyn

ORCID: 0000-0001-5361-4434

The topic of my dissertation is „Application of infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy in dermatological disorders of the scalp (lichen planopilaris and frontal fibrosing alopecia)”.

Diseases of the scalp, like other chronic dermatoses, pose a diagnostic challenge due to the lack of an unambiguous test characterized by high sensitivity and in addition specificity. For this reason, patients are diagnosed too late, when irreversible damage to the scalp and permanent hair loss occur. As a consequence of lowering the quality of life, these diseases very often lead to mental disorders (for example emotional disorders, anxiety disorders or even body image disorders) and thus constitute an important public health issue in a society with increasing life expectancy.

In the current diagnosis of lichen planopilaris and frontal fibrosis alopecia, trichoscopy and dermatoscopy are used. However, due to high subjectivity, both studies have low sensitivity. This indicates the need to search for new, better methods for easy and quick diagnosis of patients with various types of alopecia in the earlier stages of their disease. As part of my study, I want to evaluate the effectiveness of spectroscopic methods in diagnosing patients with scalp and hair diseases. The project meets the criteria of basic research because it aims to better understand the physicochemical mechanisms of pathogenesis and the course of dermatological diseases of the scalp.

During the project, the presence and severity of pruritus and quality of life will be tested in agroup of patients with Lichen planopilaris (LPP) and Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA). Then, the biochemical composition of hair will be assessed in the group of patients with LPP and FFA and in the control group. The collected material (hair) will be analyzed using spectroscopic techniques: Raman spectroscopy using the SmartRaman DXR spectrometer (Thermo Scientific) and Fourier transformation of the recorded interference spectrum (FTIR) using the FT-IR Vertex 70v spectrometer (Bruker). In order to verify the results, the hair surface will be additionally tested using the LUMOS II infrared microscope and the relative content of the hair components by mass force spectroscopy.

The most important expected effects are:

selecting differences in terms of functional groups, composition and physicochemical properties between the hair of sick and healthy people,
selecting prognostic markers that could result in better final treatment outcomes,
comparison of the suitability of spectroscopic techniques for diagnostic purposes with diagnostic procedures routinely used in clinical practice,
improved diagnostics of patients with LPP and FFA.