June 2004
Topical 5-fluorouracil is ineffective in the treatment of
extensive alopecia areata.
Kaplan AL, Olsen EA.
We report the results of a pilot study of topical 5% 5-fluorouracil (FU) cream
for the treatment of alopecia areata, an immunologically modulated disorder of
hair growth.
Patients with extensive (>50% scalp surface area involvement)
alopecia areata that was refractory to previous treatments applied 5-FU to one
side of their scalp twice daily for 3 to 6 months.
In all, 9 patients enrolled, and 8 completed the study. No
patient experienced measurable hair growth on the treated side.
Only mild irritation was observed in a subset of patients with
application of 5-FU to the nonphotodamaged scalp skin.
Based on these results, we cannot recommend the use of topical
5-FU for treatment of alopecia areata without further evidence of therapeutic
benefit.
PMID: 15153898 [PubMed - in process]
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