Alopecia Areata
Alopecia Areata – An overview
Alopecia areata is an unpredictable autoimmune disease which affects hair.
In an autoimmune disease, the body attacks its own self and, in this particular case, it attacks hair follicles causing hair to fall.
It usually appears as small round bald patches on the scalp.
Loss of eyebrows, loss of hair or bald patches in the beard is even possible.
On rare occasions, this disease appears as a diffuse and intense loss of hair, possibly from the entire body.
Alopecia areata mostly appears in children, but can be observed in individuals of any age.
It is not very common, as hair loss owing to this cause appears in approximately 2% of individuals.
Alopecia areata treatments
The specialist dermatologist will instruct the patient towards the appropriate treatment:
- either a systemic treatment
- or a topical one (immunotherapy with DPCP, anthralin, intralesional steroids)
- comorbidities control (e.g. thyroid disorders)
Moreover, scientific studies have shown that PRP treatment may help restore scalp and induce hair regrowth.
Sometimes hair loss lasts for years, while other instances have shown an impressive restoration of the scalp without recurrence, but it is impossible to predict which of the two outcomes will occur.
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