Hair Loss Induced by Lopinavir-Ritonavir
July 2007
in “
Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy
”
TLDR The medication lopinavir-ritonavir may cause severe hair loss.
In 2007, a 38-year-old Caucasian woman with HIV experienced severe hair loss after her HAART regimen was changed to include lopinavir-ritonavir. The hair loss began three months after the medication change and improved significantly within 4 weeks, completely reversing in 8 weeks after lopinavir-ritonavir was discontinued and efavirenz was started. This case indicated that alopecia could be a probable adverse reaction to lopinavir-ritonavir, and clinicians should consider medication changes if severe hair loss occurs to maintain patient adherence to HIV treatment due to the psychological and social impacts of hair loss.