308-nm excimer lamp for the treatment of alopecia areata: Clinical trial on 16 cases

Abstract

Background:Alopecia areata (AA) is considered as a T-cell mediated autoimmune disorder. The 308-nm excimer laser is thought to be capable of inducing T-cell apoptosis in vitro, suggesting that the 308-nm excimer lamp (not laser) might be effective for the treatment of AA. We examined the effectiveness of the 308-nm excimer lamp for treating AA.Materials and Methods:We treated 16 patients with single AA and multiple AA (MAA). The lesions were irradiated with a 308-nm excimer lamp at 2-week intervals.Results:Hair regrowth was observed in 14 patients. Among them, 10 patients showed more than 50% hair re-growth. Our results suggested that the 308-nm excimer lamp system is effective and safe for the treatment of single AA and MAA.Conclusion:Our results suggest that the 308-nm excimer lamp is a good therapeutic alternative without serious side effect for treating AA.

Three hundred and eight nanometer excimer light therapy for alopecia universalis that is resistant to other treatments: A clinical study of 11 patients

“…6 On the other hand, 308-nm excimer light has recently been reported to be useful for treating patchy AA in several clinical studies. 4,7 However, these studies only included a few patients with the severe types of AA, and all of these patients exhibited poor outcomes. We further investigated 308-nm excimer light therapy as a therapeutic option for patients with AU that is resistant to other treatments, such as steroid pulse therapy or topical immunotherapy.…”

“…7 However, it was recently reported that phototherapy such as NB-UVB reduces the numbers of both lesional and circulating interleukin (IL)-17 + cells and restores regulatory T-cell populations. 11 IL-17 + cells are found around hair follicles, and significantly elevated circulating IL-17 levels and lower percentages of regulatory T cells (Treg) are seen in patients with AA.…”

“…The mean age of the patients was 45.7 AE 16.9 years (range, 24-66) and the mean disease duration was 9.3 AE 8.1 years (range, 1-22). The treatments administrated to the patients included topical steroids (mean, 25 months; range, 3-60), infrared therapy (mean, 15.8 months; range, 9-30), topical immunotherapy (mean, 15.4 months; range, 7-29), corticosteroid pulse therapy and cryotherapy (mean, 11 months; range, [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. In all cases, hair loss that extended beyond the scalp was used to confirm the diagnosis of AU.…”

Original papers A study on efficacy of 308 nm excimer light therapy in alopecia areata

“…It can present with demarcated patches of hair loss, multiple patches, or extensive hair loss (alopecia totalis/universalis) [2][3][4][5][6][7]. The disease causes significant cosmetic and psychological distress in affected persons [5][6][7].…”

“…However, one of the major disadvantages of the conventional phototherapeutic modalities is that along with the alopecia patches, large areas of normal skin are also exposed to irradiation [7,8]. To overcome this problem, targeted phototherapy such as excimer laser/light therapy has been used for treating AA [7][8][9].…”