Pulsed Administration of Corticosteroids in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata
February 1996
in “
International Journal of Dermatology
”
Studysummary This study found that monthly oral prednisolone pulses of 300 mg were effective and safe for treating widespread alopecia areata, with 58.3% of patients achieving cosmetically acceptable hair growth.
Our plain-language summary. Not medical advice or a treatment recommendation. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before changing treatment. Full disclaimer
The study evaluated the effectiveness of pulsed administration of corticosteroids in treating widespread alopecia areata (AA), including alopecia totalis (AT) and universalis (AU). Thirty-two patients (24 men, 8 women) with a mean age of 29 years and a mean alopecia duration of 2.8 years were treated with 300 mg oral prednisolone pulses at 4-week intervals. Fourteen out of 24 patients (58.3%) treated with 300 mg pulses showed complete or cosmetically acceptable hair growth within an average of 2.4 months, becoming cosmetically acceptable at 4 months. Additionally, three out of seven patients treated with 1000 mg pulses showed cosmetically acceptable hair growth at 6-9 months. The study concluded that a 300 mg monthly oral pulse of prednisolone is an effective and safe outpatient treatment for widespread alopecia areata.
