Alopecia Areata Universalis After Phenobarbital-Induced Anticonvulsant Hypersensitivity Syndrome
January 2009
in “
Immunological investigations
”
TLDR A 3-year-old boy lost all his hair due to a rare reaction to phenobarbital, but it grew back after steroid treatment.
A 3-year-old boy developed alopecia areata universalis during the convalescent phase of phenobarbital-induced anti-convulsant hypersensitivity syndrome (AHS), a rare occurrence. Skin histology showed lymphocyte infiltration in specific hair follicle regions. A PubMed search revealed only 2 other similar cases. All 3 cases had a favorable prognosis, with hair regrowth occurring after 2-3 months of steroid therapy. The mechanism involved lymphocyte infiltration into peri-bulbar, supra-bulbar, and peri-follicular regions.
