Treatment of Alopecia Areata with Topical Corticosteroid: Prospective Double-Blind Randomized Study in Children

This study evaluated the efficacy of 0.05% betamethasone dipropionate cream in treating alopecia areata in children and examined the influence of atopy on therapeutic response. Conducted as a prospective double-blind controlled trial, it involved 35 children up to 12 years old. After six months, 85.7% of the children showed a positive response, with no significant difference between the betamethasone and placebo groups (p=0.47). Among the 29 atopic children, 89.6% responded positively, but no statistically significant correlation was found between therapeutic response and atopic condition (p=0.19). The study concluded that there was no difference in therapeutic responses between the groups, and atopy did not influence treatment outcomes.