Efficacy and Safety of Oral Betamethasone Mini-Pulses in Moderate to Severe Alopecia Areata

    May 2025 in “ Cureus ”
    Rasha Moumna, Zineb Loubaris, A. Mountassir, Majdouline Obtel, Benzekri Laila, Mariame Meziane
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    TLDR Oral betamethasone mini-pulses effectively treat moderate to severe alopecia areata with manageable side effects.
    This study on 40 patients at Ibn Sina University Hospital in Morocco found that oral betamethasone mini-pulses are an effective and well-tolerated treatment for moderate to severe alopecia areata (AA), with 62.5% of patients experiencing significant hair regrowth and 25% achieving complete regrowth. Mild adverse events occurred in 20% of cases, and relapses were noted in 15%, often linked to autoimmune thyroiditis and vitamin D deficiency. Better outcomes were associated with patchy AA and lower baseline SALT scores. The study suggests that betamethasone is more effective than azathioprine and that combining it with methotrexate improves outcomes. Despite its retrospective design and small sample size, the study supports betamethasone as a viable option in resource-limited settings, recommending larger studies for further validation.
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