P7.71 Observations on the external application of microelements in alopecia areata treatment

Wieszlaw Garncarz

Hair-Care Centre, Wroclaw, Poland.

Objectives: Monitoring changes in scalp condition due to external application of microelements in various types and severity of alopecia areata.

Methods: Visual evaluations were carried out on a group of 26 subjects representing both male and female patients between the ages of 4 and 65 from 1991-2003. The hair material was analysed by light and scanning microscopy.

Results: The study group consisted of two approximately equal subgroups which differed substantially in the course of the treatment. The first subgroup responded to treatment almost immediately and no exclamation mark hair was observed in the patches and the surrounding area. The skin in these areas was often moist, thin and pale. Within a few days of treatment, the condition of the skin in the patches was normalized. In the following days the induction of hair regrowth was observed, from fuzz to thin hair, and even some terminal hair growth. Three months of microelements application was enough to stimulate complete hair regrowth even in patients with a 40% hair loss area. The observed order of hair regrowth in the patches was always in reverse of the hair loss order. Since the introduction of treatment, no new patches appeared.

In the second group of patients, in the patches and the area around them, the exclamation mark hair or dark signs of broken hair in the skin layer could be observed. In general, the hair shafts close to hair follices were abnormally rigid and the scalp skin was rough and reddened. In these cases, despite the application of microelements, formation of new patches occurred during the 3-8 months of treatment. It was not until the hair debris blocking the follicles was removed and the skin inflamation was stopped, resulting in normal skin condition, that new hair growth appeared. In the same cases it was necessary to continue the treatment until all original hair was replaced. In two cases both types of alopecia areata were concurrently observed in one patient.

Conclusions: The external use of microelements proves to be beneficial as a form of alopecia areata treatment.