oral minoxidil for Alopecia Areata

Topical and systemic steroidic treatments are effective in controlling disease severity in patients with AAG. Topical and systemic steroid treatments are more effective in patients whose disease has been stable for 4 to 16 months. Maintenance therapy with steroid is necessary during relapse episodes.

Various drugs, including some antimycotics, hormonal medicines, and hormonal contraceptives, and toxins such as some dyes have been linked to developing AA. More research is needed to better understand AA.

The cause of AA is unknown, but a strong hereditary tendency to AA is implicated. The term AA can be used to describe all types of AA, especially those with scars and/or scalp hair involvement.

Patients with a history of diffuse or localized alopecia areata can present with hair loss which tends to recur at the same hair follicle site, and in many cases, is associated with other signs and symptoms such as rash, arthritis, swollen lymph nodes and fever.\n

Alopecia areata is diagnosed in up to 1-4% of females or 1-3% of males in the population. The prevalence of alopecia areata is not significantly higher among African Americans or Caucasian males. The overall prevalence of alopecia areata is higher in females than the prevalence of the disease in males, irrespective of ethnicity, age, or geographic area. The prevalence varies by patient age.

AL is associated with a number of dermatologists, but the specific management varies considerably. Treatment is targeted towards hair loss in most cases. Most hair loss in AL is progressive, but follicle growth is possible. Treatment can be difficult and is focused on maintaining symptom relief. Oral and topical medications are used to treat symptoms.

Based on the adverse effects reported in studies that used topical minoxidil, oral minoxidil may be inappropriate for the treatment of scalp hair loss. Patients with a history of skin and genital warts should also seek medical advice before taking oral minoxidil.

The current evidence seems to support that alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that probably affects the hair follicles rather than the skin. We suggest that IgE testing and skin prick tests with extracts from hair follicle cells are both useful in the diagnosis of alopecia areata. We also suggest the use of an autologous dermal extract (ALI) as a potential therapeutic option.

Oral minoxidil is effective in this group of patients and appears to be well tolerated. There is some evidence of improved hair regrowth and a reduction in relapse rates in some patients. It can be recommended as a first-line option for these patients and more work is required to define the precise role of minoxidil as a second-line treatment in patients with significant relapse of alopecia.

Patients suffering from this disease may benefit from treatments that may prevent other conditions that can be associated with the disease, such as, psychological problems and skin lesions (e.g., atopic dermatitis). To the best of our knowledge, no specific pharmacological treatment has been developed for this diseases.

Patients had a wide range of scalp hair loss severity from no hair loss to complete hair loss. Patients that experienced less severe (moderate and mild) hair loss were not as likely to have symptoms consistent with significant depression, suicidal tendencies, or sexual dysfunction, and were less likely to have been treated for a depression. Serious psychiatric disorders should be sought, especially in patients with severe (very severe and complete) hair loss. Hair loss can be a major component of alopecia areata in some patients, such as the loss of most eyebrows and beard hairs.