Comparative Study Between Topical Methotrexate 1% Gel and Minoxidil 5% Gel in the Treatment of Localized Alopecia Areata

July 2022 in “ Dermatologic Therapy ”

Dalia Mahmoud Toma, Rabie Bedir Atallah, Ramadan Mohamed El-Dahshan

topical methotrexate minoxidil alopecia areata MTX broken hair black dots vellus hair Rogaine

TLDR Minoxidil showed better improvement than methotrexate in treating localized alopecia areata.

The study compared the efficacy of topical methotrexate (MTX) 1% gel and minoxidil 5% gel in treating localized alopecia areata (AA) in 50 patients divided into two groups. Results showed that minoxidil had a statistically significant higher frequency of broken hair and black dots after 6 weeks compared to MTX. After 12 weeks, minoxidil showed a lower frequency of vellus hair than MTX. Clinically, minoxidil demonstrated significantly more excellent improvement than MTX after 6 weeks (16% vs. 0%), and both treatments showed high efficacy after 12 weeks (52% for minoxidil and 36% for MTX). There were no significant differences in side effects between the two treatments. Both treatments were effective, with no significant differences in overall efficacy.

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