P-24   TOPICAL PUVA THERAPY FOR ALOPECIA AREATA

S. Valkova, A. Tsvetanova, M. Trashlieva. Clinic of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical University, Pleven, Bulgaria.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common disorder and a heavy cosmetic and psychological burden for most of the patients. The clinical use of oral PUVA has proved its efficacy in the treatment of AA but is restricted by systemic side effects. A valuable alternative is the topical PUVA therapy with different concentrations of 8MOP solutions. The aim of the study was to determine the efficacy and side effects of local PUVA therapy using high concentrations of 8MOP- solution- 0,75%. We treated 18 patients- 13 women, 4 men and a boy from 9 to 29 years of age and phototype II-III in different clinical stages of AA (2 with alopecia totalis- AA III grade, 8 with less than 30% involvement of the scalp- AA II grade and 8 with more than 30% involvement of the scalp- AA I grade. The disease duration ranged from six months to 20 years. 30 minutes before each treatment session 0,75% of 8-MOP was applied on the hairless areas. The procedures were held thrice weekly. The UVA source was a UVA lamp (PUVA 200, Waldmann). As a result of the treatment in 5 of the patients 90% recovery of the hair was observed. In 7 the recovery was more than 50%, in 6 more than 30. The cumulative UVA dose ranged between 22,30 and 68,7 J/cm? for a treatment period of 2-12 months. The maximum single UVA dose was 4 J/cm?. The first signs of hair recovery were observed earliest after 15 and latest after 25 irradiation sessions. The local PUVA therapy was very well tolerated and no serious side effects such as strong erythema or blistering were observed. The results presented confirm that the topical PUVA therapy using high concentrations of 8MOP is a useful therapeutic alternative enriching the armamentarium of possibilities for treatment of AA.