European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Alopecia Areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease of the hair follicle that presents as
non-scarring alopecia both in the scalp and non-scalp areas. The etiology of this disease remains
unknown ;however, a current hypothesis implicates T-cell-mediated autoimmunity that affects hair
follicles, as well as the up- regulation of inflammatory cytokines ,in the pathogenesis of disease
.The severity ranges from focal (patch-type AA) to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) to entire
body hair loss (alopecia universalis).Microneedling (MN), also known as collagen induction
therapy, is a process involving repetitive puncturing of the skin with sterilized microneedles. Its
original conception can be traced back to 2012, when Orentreich and Orentreich developed the
concept of “subcision” or using hypodermic needles to induce wound healing in depressed
cutaneous scars. Anthralin is used in alopecia areata at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 1 % for
20-30 minutes after which the scalp should be washed with shampoos in order to avoid excessive
irritation.Minoxidil stimulates hair growth only in cases of mild AA, but slight to no effects were
observed in patients with extensive AA. Only mild side effects of minoxidil were reported with no
evidence of systemic effects