Alopecia Areata

Alopecia Areata is thought to be an autoimmune condition in which the skin’s own immune system cells attack hairs at the roots, causing the hairs to fall out intact, leaving smooth, bare patches on the scalp or face. In some patients stress, pregnancy, major trauma or illness precedes hair loss. One fifth of patients have a family history of Alopecia Areata. The condition is cyclical and unpredictable, and the hair can grow back or fall out again at any time. With limited hair loss of less than 40%, hair will usually regrow in a few months.

The preferred method of treatment performed by Dr. S.Radhakrishnan nair is an intralesional corticosteroid injection. The corticosteroid fluid is slowly absorbed from the injection site to the local tissue for the maximum effect. The corticosteroid suppresses the T-cell immune attack on the hair follicles.
Another treatment is topical corticosteroids that involve three months of treatments before any hair regrowth can start and often requires maintenance therapy to limit the effects of alopecia.
Systemic steroids are infrequently used to halt the progression of Alopecia Areata.

Immunotherapy treatments use drugs that be irritating and may cause a mild contact dermatitis that stimulates the scalp hair to regrow
A full recovery of lost hair is common using intralesional steroids. The injections are repeated after 3 to 4 weeks depending upon the response.The goal of any therapy is to limit and control Alopecia Areata.