Combination Therapy of Alopecia Areata Using Cyclosporine and Low-Dose Corticosteroid: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study

The document presents a long-term follow-up study evaluating the efficacy of combination therapy using systemic cyclosporine and low-dose corticosteroid for the treatment of alopecia areata. The study retrospectively reviewed medical records and conducted telephone interviews with patients who started the combination therapy over 5 years ago. Out of 79 subjects who met the criteria, 28 were enrolled in the study. The sex ratio was 1 male to 2.1 females, with a mean follow-up time of 7.3 years and a mean treatment period of 7.94 months. The results showed that 35.7% (10 out of 28) of the patients had no hair loss at the time of the survey, and 42.9% (12 out of 28) maintained a cured condition, defined as more than 90% recovery in their alopecic patches. However, 50% of the subjects experienced recurrence. The study concluded that the combination therapy is likely to show favorable long-term results for treating alopecia areata. No commercial support was identified for the study.