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Treatment of alopecia areata with 308‐nm excimer lamp
Author(s) -
OHTSUKI Akiko,
HASEGAWA Toshio,
IKEDA Shigaku
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1346-8138
pISSN - 0385-2407
DOI - 10.1111/j.1346-8138.2010.00942.x
Subject(s) - alopecia areata , excimer , erythema , dermatology , medicine , cabello , scalp , optics , physics , fluorescence
Alopecia areata is considered to be a T‐cell mediated autoimmune disorder. The 308‐nm excimer lamp is thought to be capable of inducing T‐cell apoptosis in vitro , suggesting that the lamp might be effective for the treatment of alopecia areata. We examined the effectiveness of the 308‐nm excimer lamp for the treatment of alopecia areata. We recruited three patients with single alopecia areata lesions that were resistant to conventional treatment. The lesions were exposed to a 308‐nm excimer lamp at 2‐weekly intervals. Hair regrowth was observed in all three patients after approximately 10 treatment sessions. Our study showed that exposure to the 308‐nm excimer lamp effectively induced hair regrowth in solitary alopecia areata lesions. Apart from erythema, there were no significant adverse effects. Therefore, we suggest that it may be considered as a treatment modality for recalcitrant alopecia areata.