TLDR Oral alitretinoin can quickly regrow hair in alopecia universalis.
A 52-year-old woman with alopecia universalis (AU) experienced significant hair regrowth after treatment with oral alitretinoin. Initially, she had 100% hair loss, but after 2 months of taking 30 mg daily, she saw 45.2% regrowth, and after 4 months, 86.8% regrowth was observed. The treatment was adjusted to 10 mg daily due to headaches. This case suggested that alitretinoin could be a potential therapeutic option for AU, a condition that is typically difficult to treat and has significant psychological impacts. This was the first reported case of AU treated successfully with oral alitretinoin.
8 citations,
January 2013 in “European Journal of Dermatology” Alitretinoin may help treat alopecia areata.
54 citations,
September 2012 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” Vitamin A affects hair loss and immune response in alopecia areata.
421 citations,
April 2012 in “The New England Journal of Medicine” Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune condition causing hair loss with no cure and treatments that often don't work well.
391 citations,
January 2010 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Half of people with Alopecia Areata may see hair regrowth within a year without treatment, but recovery is unpredictable.
244 citations,
January 2010 in “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology” The document says current treatments for alopecia areata do not cure or prevent it, and it's hard to judge their effectiveness due to spontaneous remission and lack of studies.
44 citations,
October 2009 in “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology” Topical bexarotene 1% gel might help regrow hair in alopecia areata and is generally safe.
6 citations,
March 2019 in “JAAD case reports” A new mix of anthralin and calcipotriene might help treat severe hair loss.
148 citations,
December 2018 in “Journal of autoimmunity” Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease causing patchy hair loss, often with other autoimmune disorders, but its exact causes are unknown.
4 citations,
November 2018 in “JAAD case reports” Alopecia areata can sometimes appear as a straight line of hair loss instead of round patches.
May 2018 in “Journal of cosmetology & trichology” Combining platelet-rich plasma therapy with prostaglandin-F eye drops can significantly regrow hair in alopecia universalis.
