short anagen syndrome ( sas ) is a recently recognized congenital disease clinically characterized by persistently short fine hair since birth , due to a decreased duration of the anagen phase .
the common complaint is that the hair does not grow long and that it has never been cut .
only a few cases have been published in the literature , mainly in caucasian blond - haired girls .
although some authors claim that short anagen is rare , others believe that it is just under - recognized .
we here present a case of sas in a hispanic , dark - haired girl .
a healthy hispanic 3-year - old girl presented with a history of short hair since birth .
the mother reported that there was excessive shedding and poor hair growth , and that the girl had never needed a haircut .
the patient was well- developed and did not present any abnormality except for short , dark , and thin hair [ figures 1 and 2 ] .
note the short length hair in a 3-year - old child telogen hair with tipped point dermoscopy of pulled hairs showed 4.7 cm long telogen hairs with tipped points , which indicates that the hair had never been cut .
short anagen hair syndrome , as the name indicates , is a condition where the anagen phase is shortened and subsequently there is an increase in the number of telogen hairs .
the disease is congenital and is thought to be sporadic , even though familial cases have been reported which may suggest an autosomal dominant inheritance .
clinically , although the hair shaft is normal without signs of breakage the patients are not able to grow long hair and present with increased shedding .
the condition is usually benign , nevertheless associations with tricho - dental syndrome , synchronized pattern of scalp hair growth , and micronychia have been reported . the characteristic clinical image and the finding of short ( less than 6 cm long ) telogen hairs with a tipped point at the pull test or trichogram makes the diagnosis .
the main differential diagnosis has to be made with loose anagen syndrome , which also presents with short hair , but the hair is shed during anagen .
treatment is not necessary as this condition tends to improve after puberty , however improvement with minoxidil and cyclosporine has been reported .
for the exception of a case reported in an african - american patient , three others in caucasians with dark brown hair , and one in an asian patient most cases have occurred in caucasians with fine blond hair . to our knowledge , based on a search of pubmed , ( lilacs ) latin american and caribbean health sciences literature , and google scholar from 1999 to the present , using the terms  short anagen  and  sas  as key words , this is the first case published in a hispanic dark - haired girl in the english medical literature .
 short anagen syndrome ( sas ) is a condition in which hair does not grow long . 
 it usually perceived by parents in children around 2 - 4 years of age . 
 it is a benign disease of the hair cycle . 
 the condition is relevant from the standpoint of differential diagnosis with loose anagen syndrome . 
 we report a case of sas in a hispanic 3-year - old girl . 
INTRODUCTION
CASE REPORT
DISCUSSION