Blocking Allergies Helps Alopecia Areata

Does blocking allergies help IN THE TREATMENT OF alopecia areata?

It’s increasingly clear that blocking allergic responses can be part of an effective treatment strategy for alopecia areata. In 2023, researchers set out to study if allergen immunotherapy (AIT) against house dust mite (HDM) allergy affects disease severity and prognosis for patients with alopecia areata.

69 patients with alopecia areata were studied. All had dust mite allergy. 34 patients received conventional/traditional AA treatment plus allergen immunotherapy against dust mites (group 1) and 35 patients received conventional/traditional AA treatment (group 2) alone.

At the end of the 3-year desensitization course, Group 1 (treated with allergen immunotherapy) presented with better hair density than Group 2 (conventional treatment) - especially for those patients with less severe forms to start with and pre-adolescent alopecia totalis/universalis patients (age ≤ 14).

In patients with elevated total IgE levels before starting allergy immunotherapy, a decrease in total IgE was correlated to a reduced extent of alopecia following completion of the allergy immunotherapy.

Conclusion and Comments

All in all, data continues to emerge that certain environmental triggers are of significance in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata. Reducing their triggers and addressing these triggers helps regrow hair to some extent in patients with alopecia areata.

Practitioners may need to address these triggers as part of a comprehensive management plan.

REFERENCE

Zeng Z et al. Affiliations expandAllergen desensitization reduces the severity of relapsed alopecia areata in dust-mite allergic patients. Exp Dermatol. 2023 Jul;32(7):1108-1119. doi: 10.1111/exd.14819. Epub 2023 Apr 28.