Efficacy of Oral Retinoids in Treatment-Resistant Lichen Planopilaris

    Frank C. Spano, Jeff Donovan
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    TLDR Oral retinoids may help some patients with hard-to-treat lichen planopilaris, but more research is needed.
    In a retrospective study at the University of Toronto Hair Clinic, 21 patients with treatment-resistant lichen planopilaris (LPP) were treated with oral retinoids (acitretin or isotretinoin) after not responding to first-line treatments. The study, which spanned from 2009 to 2013, found that 24% (5 of 21) of the patients showed clinical improvement within 2 to 4 months, although the most common side effect was dryness of the skin and mucosae, affecting 43% of the patients. Only 3 of the 5 responders continued the treatment after 13 to 18 months. The study concluded that oral retinoids could be a helpful adjunctive treatment for a small subset of patients with LPP, but the results were limited by the retrospective design and the small number of participants, suggesting the need for more research.
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      in Research/Science  2 upvotes 2 weeks ago
      Tretinoin can cause non-telogen hair loss in some men by inducing catagen-like changes in hair follicles and through retinoid toxicity, especially when used with minoxidil. Some users report hair loss even when using retinoids on the face, while others experience benefits when combined with treatments like finasteride and minoxidil.

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      in Chat  7 upvotes 1 year ago
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      community Hair shed after adding tretinoin with topical minoxydil

      in Minoxidil  3 upvotes 7 months ago
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      community Minoxidil works only with Retinoic acid

      in Minoxidil  308 upvotes 1 week ago
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