The treatment of alopecia areata

This article reviews the different treatments of alopecia areata (AA). The information includes both a review of the literature as well as practical aspects regarding the use of the most commonly used therapies for AA. These modalties are summarized in a practical algorithm that can be used as a guide. For patients less than 10 years of age, the options are topical corsticosteroids, topical minoxidil, and anthralin. For adults with less than 50% scalp involvement, the first option is usually the use of intralesional corticosteroids, followed by topical corticosteroid creams, minoxidil solution, or anthralin cream. For adults with more than 50% scalp involvement, topical immunotherapy and phototherapy are added to the other options. Other modalities such as cyclosporine, tacrolimus, interferon, dapsone, and cosmetic coverups are also discussed.