A Study of Etretinate-Induced Alopecia

In the 1990 study of 22 patients treated with etretinate, researchers found that the drug primarily caused an increase in the plucked telogen count by shortening the anagen phase of the hair cycle, rather than delaying the onset of anagen or significantly changing the shedding rate. The peak of this effect was observed at 12 weeks. Only 2 patients showed signs of classical telogen effluvium, and 2 others had a telogen anchorage defect. The study concluded that etretinate treatment led to changes in hair cycle dynamics in a significant portion of the patients.