Treatments for androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata - Current optionsand future prospects

Androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata are common disorders of the hair follicle which may heavily influence self esteem and self image. Androgenet ic alopecia is caused by the heightened sensitivity of scalp follicles to d ihydrotestosterone whereas alopecia areata is induced by an autoimmune reac tion. Current drug treatment approaches include the use of regrowth stimula tors such as topical minoxidil and oral finasteride for androgenetic alopec ia, as well as topical minoxidil, dithranol (anthralin). corticosteroids, c ontact sensitisers, and psoralen plus ultraviolet A irradiation (PUVA) ther apy for alopecia areata. Combination regimens are also proposed. However, e xtreme cases of either type of alopecia do not generally respond well to th ese existing treatments. For this reason, new therapeutic strategies are di rected towards both improving the targeting of existing agents, as well as the development of novel hypertrichotic modalities.