Cyclosporine With and Without Systemic Corticosteroids in Treatment of Alopecia Areata: A Systematic Review

April 2020 in “ Dermatology and therapy ”

Joanna Nowaczyk, Karolina Makowska, Adriana Rakowska, Mariusz Sikora, Lidia Rudnicka

cyclosporine systemic corticosteroids alopecia areata focal alopecia areata multifocal alopecia areata ophiasis alopecia areata alopecia totalis alopecia universalis hair regrowth hypertrichosis hypertension

Studysummary This systematic review assessed cyclosporine's effectiveness with or without corticosteroids for treating alopecia areata, finding combined therapy more effective and with a lower recurrence rate than monotherapy, especially for severe cases, though results varied by alopecia type. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The systematic review evaluated the efficacy of cyclosporine with and without systemic corticosteroids in treating alopecia areata among 340 patients. It found that combined therapy with systemic corticosteroids was more effective (69.41%) than cyclosporine monotherapy (57.02%) and had a lower recurrence rate (36.11% vs. 73.91%). Patients with focal, multifocal, or ophiasis alopecia areata had higher hair regrowth rates (75.15%) compared to those with alopecia totalis (65.22%) or alopecia universalis (46.15%). Side effects were observed in 36.76% of patients, with gastrointestinal issues, hypertrichosis, and hypertension being the most common. The study concluded that cyclosporine combined with systemic corticosteroids was more effective than monotherapy for severe alopecia areata, but highlighted the need for further prospective research.

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