Red LED Light Therapy for Telogen Effluvium in Long COVID Patients With and Without Androgenetic Alopecia

The research paper presents a retrospective study of 140 post-COVID patients experiencing hair loss, investigating the efficacy of Red LED light therapy in treating telogen effluvium (TE), a condition causing excessive hair shedding. The patients were categorized into four groups based on their type of alopecia and whether they underwent LED therapy. After 12 weeks, groups that received LED therapy demonstrated more frequent cessation of hair loss and a negative hair pull test compared to those who did not receive LED therapy. Furthermore, patients treated with LED irradiation showed an increased number of thick hairs and an increased number of hairs within follicular units, regardless of their type of alopecia. The study concluded that LED therapy is safe, well tolerated, and could be a promising treatment option for TE in long COVID patients, leading to a quicker reduction of hair loss and enhancing hair regrowth, thickness, and density.