Alopecia areata in children: treatment with diphencyprone.
We assessed the efficacy of diphencyprone (DPCP) treatment in a total of 26 children with alopecia areata (AA). Sixteen children had alopecia areata totalis (AAT) and 10 had alopecia areata localis (AAL). DPCP is an absolute contact sensitizer. Twenty-five children could be sensitized with a 2% DPCP solution, whereas one child could not be sensitized. Patients were treated, once a week for at least 3 months, for up to 1 year. Twenty-one of the 25 (84%) children showed hair regrowth to a greater or lesser extent after DPCP treatment. Eight of the 25 (32%) children showed cosmetically acceptable hair regrowth. Cosmetically acceptable regrowth at the end of the study was seen in four of the 15 (27%) children with AAT and in four of the 10 (40%) children with AAL. These results are comparable with those reported in an earlier study in children with AA. Our opinion is that DPCP is a beneficial therapeutic agent in children with severe AAT and AAL showing no spontaneous remission.
Schuttelaar
M L
ML
Clinic for Hair and Nail Diseases, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Hamstra
J J
JJ
Plinck
E P
EP
Peereboom-Wynia
J D
JD
Vuzevski
V D
VD
Mulder
P G
PG
Oranje
A P
AP
D000293:Adolescent; D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003521:Cyclopropanes / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006197:Hair / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D003521:Cyclopropanes; C029402:diphenylcyclopropenone