Evaluation of anthralin in the treatment of alopecia areata

Anthralin cream 0.5% to 1.0% was used to treat 68 patients with severe alopecia areata. Therapy was relatively well tolerated, although all patients experienced pruritus and local erythema and scaling. Cosmetic response was seen in 17 (25%) of the patients, and was maintained during therapy in 12 (71%) of the 17 cosmetic responders. For the patients treated with 0.5% anthralin, the mean time to response (44 of 66 patients) was 11 weeks; the mean time to cosmetic response (13 of 66 patients) was 23 weeks. Duration of the current episode of hair loss did not correlate with cosmetic response. Compared with other currently available topical treatments, anthralin appears to be a reasonable therapeutic option for severe alopecia areata.