Acute Alopecia Associated With Albendazole Toxicosis

The document discusses a case of a 53-year-old man who experienced acute hair loss and other symptoms after a massive overdose of Albendazole, an anthelmintic medication. Albendazole works by inhibiting microtubule dynamics and has a greater binding affinity for helminthic β-tubulin than for its mammalian counterpart. The patient consumed 113,000 mg of Albendazole, approximately 300 times the standard dose of 400 mg, leading to symptoms such as syncope, fever, tachycardia, pancytopenia, and severe alopecia. The hair loss pattern was similar to chemotherapy-induced anagen effluvium. The patient's hair began to regrow within 2 weeks after discontinuing Albendazole. The document suggests that Albendazole exerts an effect on mammalian β-tubulin similar to conventional chemotherapy when ingested in a massive quantity. It also mentions that therapeutic doses of Albendazole have been associated with telogen effluvium in certain individuals.