Canities subita

Marie Antoinette syndrome is a sudden whitening of the hair. The event that named the syndrome was the observation that the hair of Queen Marie Antoinette of France turned stark white after her capture after the ill-fated Flight to Varennes during the French Revolution. Witnesses have alleged that Antoinette's hair suddenly turned white on three separate occasions.

Documented cases

The first actual documented case in history is represented in the Talmud by a story of a Jewish scholar who, at the age of 17 years, developed white hair locks due to overwork.

Now and again, contemporary cases have been documented, as in bomb victims in the second world war or in a recently published case.

Causes

The syndrome is thought to be a variant of alopecia areata diffusa or autoimmune non-scarring hair loss that affects selectively all pigmented hairs, leaving only the white hair behind.

Triggers activating the autoimmune mechanisms have been postulated, including sorrow and fear, but also fits of rage, extreme amounts of stress, unwelcome, unexpected news.

In other media

In the Japanese manga and anime Tokyo Ghoul, the main character of the series Ken Kaneki experiences extreme stress when being tortured, causing his hair to turn completely white.

In the light novel series and anime Katanagatari, Togame's hair turned white when she was a child after witnessing the death of her father.

Victorique, the main heroine from the Japanese light novel series and anime Gosick, undergoes a stressful ordeal which causes her hair to turn silvery-white.

In the Hunter X Hunter anime, both Knov and Welfin experience whitening of the hair and extreme aging due to stress.