title: Efficacy of superficial cryotherapy on the eyebrows of patients with alopecia universalis also treated with contact immunotherapy on the scalp: a prospective, split-face comparative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few treatment modalities are available for treating alopecia areata (AA) of the eyebrow. Due to the anatomical proximity of the eyebrows to the eyes, safety issues and side effects should always be taken into consideration when choosing the treatment modality. This study was designed to examine the efficacy of superficial cryotherapy on patients with AA of the eyebrow.
  
  
  METHODS
  Superficial cryotherapy was performed every other week on the right eyebrow (SC-treated) in a total of 20 patients who had been previously treated with diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) immunotherapy on the scalp. No specific treatment was performed on the left eyebrows as a control. The degree of eyebrow recovery was compared in 15 patients who continued to receive more than 10 superficial cryotherapy treatments (5 months of treatment) on their right eyebrow.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hair density was significantly increased on both treated and control eyebrows after 5 months of treatment compared with the pretreatment density; moreover, the SC-treated eyebrows exhibited a significantly greater increase in density than the control eyebrows. Although hair thickness in the control eyebrows did not change significantly over the treatment period, hair thickness of the SC-treated eyebrows showed a statistically significant increase at months 3 and 5.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Superficial cryotherapy is associated with minimal to no adverse events and exhibits high compliance and relatively good efficacy. Thus, this treatment is an important additional option for patients with AA of the eyebrow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Institute of Hair and Cosmetic Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Jay
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Institute of Hair and Cosmetic Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Soo
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D017679:Cryotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D003521:Cyclopropanes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005138:Eyebrows; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012535:Scalp; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003521:Cyclopropanes; C029402:diphenylcyclopropenone