Treatment of alopecia areata with 308‐nm excimer lamp

Abstract

Alopecia areata is considered to be a T-cell mediated autoimmune disorder. The 308-nm excimer lamp is thought to be capable of inducing T-cell apoptosis in vitro, suggesting that the lamp might be effective for the treatment of alopecia areata. We examined the effectiveness of the 308-nm excimer lamp for the treatment of alopecia areata. We recruited three patients with single alopecia areata lesions that were resistant to conventional treatment. The lesions were exposed to a 308-nm excimer lamp at 2-weekly intervals. Hair regrowth was observed in all three patients after approximately 10 treatment sessions. Our study showed that exposure to the 308-nm excimer lamp effectively induced hair regrowth in solitary alopecia areata lesions. Apart from erythema, there were no significant adverse effects. Therefore, we suggest that it may be considered as a treatment modality for recalcitrant alopecia areata.

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.…”

“…On the other hand, it has been suggested that the CD8 + T cells around hair bulbs contribute to hair loss in the chronic phase of AA. 3 UVB radiation has immunosuppressive effects, for example, it induces Tcell apoptosis, 4 and reductions in the numbers of both CD4 + and CD8 + cells have been detected after the irradiation of psoriatic lesions with narrowband (NB)-UVB 5 therefore, it may be effective at treating AA. Unfortunately, NB-UVB was concluded to be ineffective against AA in a retrospective analysis of the cases of 25 patients.…”

“…The 308-nm excimer light (equivalent to an excimer lamp) is a system that delivers long-wave monochromatic ultraviolet (UV)B radiation, which is known to induce T-cell apoptosis in vitro, 3 and has recently been reported to be useful for treating patchy AA in several clinical studies. 4,5 However, only a few patients with the severe forms of AA were included in these studies, and all of them exhibited poor outcomes. In the present study, we retrospectively studied the utility of 308-nm excimer light therapy as a treatment for AU that is resistant to other treatments.…”

Lazerin Dermatolojide Diğer Kullanım Alanları

“…Yoo ve ark., multipl alopesi areta plakları olan ve daha önce aldığı tedavilere cevap vermeyen bir olgusunda fraksiyonel fototermoliz lazeri kullanmışlar ve bir ayın sonunda saç uzaması elde edildiğini bildirmişlerdir 7 . Alopesi areata tedavisinde 308 nm excimer lazer ile edinilmiş birçok başarılı çalışma vardır 8,9 . Waiz ve ark., 16 dirençli alopesi areatası olan hastanın alopesi plaklarına uyguladıkları 904 nm dalga boyu veren, pulse infrared diode lazer ile başarılı sonuç elde etiklerini rapor etmişlerdir 10 .…”

Use of Lasers in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata

“…Since the benefit of the excimer laser on AA first reported by Gundogan et al, 20 numerous studies have confirmed its efficacy. [21][22][23] The largest study so far was done on 18 patients with recalcitrant AA that involved the scalp, beard, arms and legs. Each alopecic patch was treated twice a week for a maximum of 24 sessions.…”