Alopecia Associated with Quetiapine

The document reports the first published cases of alopecia (hair loss) associated with the use of quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic medication. The New Zealand Intensive Medicines Monitoring Programme (IMMP) database included two case reports suggesting a causal relationship between quetiapine and alopecia. Additionally, the World Health Organization international database contained 15 case reports of alopecia associated with quetiapine, with seven providing sufficient information for causality assessment. One of these cases, involving a 69-year-old female patient from Germany, reported recovery from alopecia after quetiapine withdrawal. No previously published reports of alopecia associated with quetiapine were identified. The document concludes that there is evidence supporting an association between quetiapine and alopecia, which is a potentially distressing side effect not previously described in the literature.