AI Article Synopsis
- - Alopecia areata (AA) is a challenging autoimmune disease involving T-cell activity, and systemic immunosuppressive therapies are commonly used for treatment.
- - A study evaluated 29 patients with hard-to-treat AA using low-dose methotrexate (LD-MTX), finding significant regrowth in nearly 90% of participants and a mean dose of 14.48 mg administered twice a week.
- - The results suggest LD-MTX is an effective and tolerable option for treating recalcitrant AA, despite some patients experiencing side effects and a 31% relapse rate among those with over 75% regrowth.
Article Abstract
Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune skin disease difficult to manage and treat. The pathogenesis of AA features a T-cell-associated autoimmune process, and systemic immunosuppressive therapy is prescribed widely for AA.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of systemic low-dose methotrexate (LD-MTX) therapy in treatment of recalcitrant AA multiplex.
Methods: In a retrospective, non-controlled study, we evaluated 29 patients with recalcitrant AA treated with LD-MTX and assessed the therapeutic response according to severity of disease, disease duration, cumulative dose of MTX, and drug safety.
Results: MTX was administered twice weekly, and the mean maximum weekly dose was 14.48 mg. The response was A5 (regrowth=100.0%) in 14 (48.3%) patients and A4 (regrowth of 75%~90%) in 12 (41.4%) patients. Three patients had poor response to LD-MTX treatment (A2: n=2 [6.9%], A1: n=1 [3.4%]). All three of the patients showing a poor response had disease durations exceeding 24 months. Relapse was observed in 31% of patients with more than 75% regrowth. Common side-effects were elevated liver enzyme levels and gastrointestinal discomfort.
Conclusion: LD-MTX appears to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for recalcitrant AA multiplex.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5438930 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.5021/ad.2017.29.3.263 | DOI Listing |
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