Transepidermal drug delivery: a new treatment option for areata alopecia?

BACKGROUND Transepidermal drug delivery (TED) is a new potential method in dermatology. Permeability alterations induced by ablative fractional resurfacing have been described with the aim to increasing the delivery of different substances into the skin. OBJECTIVE To evaluate clinical response and side effects of TED in areata alopecia (AA) treatment using ablative fractional methods associated with acoustic pressure ultrasound (US) to deliver triamcinolone solution into the skin. METHODS AND MATERIALS Five cases of AA underwent treatment which comprised of 3 steps: 1) Ablative fractioned RF or CO2 laser 2) topical application of triamcinolone 3) acoustic pressure wave US. The number of sessions varied according to the clinical response, ranging from one to six sessions. RESULTS All patients had complete recovery of the area treated. Two of them treated with ablative fractional RF + triamcinolone + US had complete response after three and six sessions. The other two treated with ablative fractional CO2 + triamcinolone + US had complete response after one session. CONCLUSION Fractioned ablative resurfacing associated with acoustic pressure wave US is a new option to areata alopecia treatment with good clinical result and low incidence of side effects.