A case series of 46 patients with lichen planopilaris: Demographics, clinical evaluation, and treatment experience
July 2014
in “Journal of Dermatological Treatment”
TLDR Most treatments for lichen planopilaris were found to be generally unsatisfactory.
In a retrospective review of 46 patients with lichen planopilaris (LPP), 82.6% were women and 17.4% were men. The study found no clear link between medical history or medications and LPP onset. Itching scalp was the most common symptom (54.34%), and 39.1% of patients had scalp-wide involvement. Intralesional corticosteroid injections were the most effective for symptom relief, and the combination of hydroxychloroquine and topical corticosteroids had the highest remission rate, with 33% achieving remission after 18 months. However, 50% of those in remission needed ongoing treatment, and no patients saw visible hair regrowth. The study concluded that the treatments used were generally unsatisfactory for LPP. After starting treatment, 6.5% of patients achieved remission at 3 months, 13% had partial stabilization, and 80.4% had active disease. Remission rates improved over time, reaching 33.3% at 1.5 years, but no patients experienced more than 50% scalp hair loss.
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