Albendazole-Induced Anagen Effluvium: A Brief Literature Review and Our Own Experience

The document reviewed literature and presented two case studies on the side effects of Albendazole, a drug used for treating parasitoses. The side effects included alopecia and cytopenia. The first case study was a 39-year-old woman who experienced hair loss after using Albendazole for 21 days, and the second case was a 9-year-old girl who had diffuse hair loss after using the drug for 3 days. Both developed hair loss symptoms 2 weeks after starting the drug. A previous study mentioned in the document reported hair loss in 6 out of 12 patients during Albendazole courses. The authors suggested that the sudden-onset alopecia after Albendazole use might be due to the drug's inhibition of cellular microtubule polymerization binding to ß-tubulin, similar to other chemotherapeutic drugs with antiproliferative effects.