Steroid Topical Therapy And Pulse Dosing Therapy For Multifocal Alopecia Areata
January 2003
in “
Journal of Practical Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery
”
TLDR Both steroid treatments effectively regrow hair in severe alopecia areata.
The study evaluated the efficacy of intralesional Diprospan (betamethasone) injections and high-dose steroid pulse therapy with methylprednisolone in 23 patients with multifocal alopecia areata lasting more than 13 months. After two months of Diprospan treatment, 11 patients showed 50% or more hair regrowth, 3 had less than 50% regrowth, and 9 had poor or no regrowth. In 7 patients unresponsive to Diprospan, methylprednisolone pulse therapy resulted in over 50% hair regrowth in 4 cases after three months. The study concluded that both treatments were effective and well-tolerated, with high-dose corticosteroids being a viable alternative for severe cases unresponsive to other treatments.