BACKGROUND Spontaneous recovery of severe alopecia areata is rare and the condition is difficult to treat. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the effects and safety of steroid pulse therapy between oral and intravenous administrations between 1999 and 2010 at the Department of Dermatology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital. METHODS Data were retrospectively ...

Alopecia areata is a common form of nonscarring alopecia. It affects males and females equally and has no racial predilection. It usually affects the scalp, but any hair-bearing area can be involved. It presents as patchy hair loss, loss of hair on the entire scalp (alopecia totalis), or the whole body (alopecia universalis). The histopathology varies according to the disease stage, but usually...

BACKGROUND The most crucial factor in hair transplantation for male pattern baldness (MPB) patients is the efficient utilization of the donor-recipient ratio. However, there is no known factor that scientifically predicts the rate of progression of alopecia or indicates a permanently safe donor area. METHODS The study considered 1,008 Korean adult males with MPB; of these, it excluded 56 male...

Background: Alopecia areata is a patchy hair loss that may occur in any hair bearing area on the body. There are many reports of ocular abnormalities such as lens and retinal changes in alopecia areata. Objective: To evaluate ocular alterations in alopecia areata with regard to the lens and retina. Patients & Methods: Seventy three patients with alopecia areata including 34 males and 39 f...

Objective: Alopecia areata is a common disorder 5-30% of cases representing alopecia totalis (AT) or alopecia universalis (AU), the most severe forms of the disorder. In the absence of any FDA-approved treatments, topical Hair UpTM has shown promising results but has not been subject to formal study. The following study reports the initial use of a customized natural topical treatment-Hair UpTM...

Leukonychia totalis and leukonychia partialis are rare nail findings characterized by complete or partial whitening of the nail plate. Leukonychia totalis and leukonychia partialis are usually inherited or associated with systemic disease. Here, we report the case of a 25-year-old man with idiopathic acquired leukonychia totalis and leukonychia partialis and review the literature on this topic.

BACKGROUND Immunotherapy with diphencyprone (diphenylcyclopropenone) is used in the treatment of alopecia areata (AA). Response rates have varied in the literature. OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacy of diphencyprone therapy for AA in the largest reported cohort of patients; to identify patient and treatment factors predictive of therapeutic success; and to develop a practical model for pre...

One of the genetic factors associated with the development of alopecia areata (AA) is the HLA locus. The study comprised 52 patients with AA aged 10 to 64 years. The frequences of HLA-DRB alleles in the patients and controls were compared. The control group comprised 152 healthy persons. Familial occurrence of AA was seen in 7 (13.5%) cases. A significantly lower frequency of HLA-DRB1*03 was ob...