Table 1.
Summary table of FFA treatment studies included in this review.
| Treatment | Study | No. of patients | Results | Comments | ACP grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-α-reductase-inhibitors (finasteride) |
Vañó-Galván et al2 (2014) | 102 | Improvement: 48 (47%) Stabilization: 54 (53%) |
Dosage: 2.5–5.0 mg/day | Moderate |
| Ladizinski et al4 (2013) | 3 | Stabilization: 1 (33%) | Dosage: 1.0–2.5 mg/daya | Low | |
| Moreno-Ramirez et al8 (2005) | 7 | Stabilization: 7 (100%) | Dosage: 2.5 mg/day in combination therapyb | Very low | |
| Tosti et al72 (2005) | 8 | Stabilization: 4 (50%) | Dosage: 2.5 mg/day | Very low | |
| Rallis et al23 (2010) | 5 | Stabilization: 3 (60%) Worsening: 2 (40%) |
Dosage: 2.5 mg/day + minoxidil solution 5% for 12 months | Very low | |
| 5-α-reductase-inhibitors (dutasteride) |
Vañó-Galván et al2 (2014) | 18 | Improvement: 8 (44%) Stabilization: 10 (56%) |
Dosage: 0.5 mg/week | Moderate |
| Ladizinski et al4 (2013) | 10 | Stabilization: 7 (70%) | Dosage: 0.5 mg/day and 0.5 mg/weekc | Low | |
| Georgala et al44(2009) | 13 | Improvement: 2 (15%) Stabilization: 6 (62%) |
Dosage: 0.5 mg/day | Low | |
| Intralesional steroids | Banka et al10 (2014) | 57 | Stabilization + reduction in symptoms: 55 (97%) | + Topical clobetasol propionate 0.05% | Low |
| Moreno-Ramirez et al8(2005) | 15 | Stabilization: 14 (93%) | Dosage: 20 mg/mL every 3 months | Very low | |
| Vañó-Galván et al2 (2014) | 130 | Improvement: 44 (34%) Stabilization: 64 (49%) Worsening: 6 (5%) |
Mean of 8 injections per patient One injection every 3–6 months | Moderate | |
| Donovan et al30 (2015) | 11 | Complete response with hair regrowth in 10 patients at 3 and 6 month follow-up. | 10 mg/mL | Very low | |
| Hydroxychloroquine | Strazzulla et al39 (2018) | 32 | Results specific to hydroxychloroquine not reported | Administered as part of a systemic therapy | Low |
| Vañó-Galván et al2 (2014) | 54 | Improvement: 8 (15%) Stabilization: 32 (59%) Worsening: 12 (22%) |
Dosage: 200–400 mg/day | Moderate | |
| Ladizinski et al4 (2013) | 4 | Stabilization: 2 (50%) | Dosage: 400 mg/day | Low | |
| Topical corticosteroids | Heppt et al40 (2018) | 48 | Improvement: 19 (40%) Stabilization: 12 (25%) Worsening: 11 (23%) |
Treated with alternation of topical steroids and pimecrolimus 1% cream Followed for an average of 20 months |
Low |
| Moreno-Arrones et al28 (2017) | 106 | Stabilization: 40 (38%) | Topical clobetasol (0.5% foam, twice/week) with oral dutasteride (0.5 mg, thrice/week) | Moderate | |
| Rallis et al23 (2010) | 6 | Improvement: 0 (0%) | Topical clobetasol 0.05% monotherapy daily | Very low | |
| Topical calcineurin inhibitors | MacDonald et al11 (2012) | 22 | Uncertain | Low | |
| Systemic retinoids | Rakowska et al33 (2017) | 40 | Stabilization: 30 (75%) No further progression after discontinuation of treatment: 29 (73%) |
Dosage: 20 mg isotretinoin or acitretin/day | Moderate |
| Pioglitazone | Baibergenova and Walsh63 (2012) | 24 with LPP | Remission: 5 Improvement: 12 No change: 3 |
Dosage: 15 mg/day | Very low |
| Mesinkovaska et al59 (2015) | 22 with LPP | Marked improvement: 16 (72%) New hair growth: 6 (27%) |
Dosage: 15 mg/day | Very low | |
| Ladizinski et al4 (2013) | 1 | Lack of response | Dosage: 15 mg/day | Low | |
| Mirmirani and Karnik62 (2009) | 1 with LPP | Complete response | Dosage: 15 mg/day | Very low | |
| Oral tetracyclines | Ladizinski et al4 (2013) | 3 | Stabilization: 2 | Doxycycline + Dutasteride | Low |
| Samrao et al12 (2010) | 4 | At 6-month follow-up: response: 1 Partial response: 1 No response: 2 |
Doxycycline | Low | |
| Banka et al10 (2014) | 13 | Stabilization: 13 (100%) | Doxycycline 100 mg twice daily or tetracycline 500 mg twice daily | Low | |
| Topical minoxidil | Cranwell et al31 (2017) | 1 | Stabilization: 1 | + Dutasteride | Very low |
| Tan and Messenger9 (2009) | 2 | Stabilization: 2 | + Intralesional steroids | Very low | |
| Tosti et al72 (2005) | 8 | Arrest of disease progression: 4 (50%) | + Finasteride 2.5 mg/day | Very low | |
| Excimer laser | Navarini et al74 (2011) | 13 with LPP | Significant reduction in clinical signs of inflammation | Frequency: twice/week Cumulative mean dosage: 4300 mj/cm |
Very low |
| Vavricka et al75 (2006) | 13 with LPP | Positive response in all 3 patients—2 with hair growth and 1 with decreased pruritis | Average of 10 excimer laser treatments | Very low | |
| Hair transplantation | Liu et al45 (2018) | 2 | Graft survival during 3–4 year follow-up period | Very low | |
| Gurfinkiel et al46 (2011) | 1 | Hair growth sustained after 6 years | + Oral finasteride, topical minoxidil, betamethasone | Very low | |
| Jiménez and Poblet77 (2013) | 3 | Transplanted hair lost after 3 years | Very low | ||
| Nusbaum and Nusbaum6 (2010) | 1 | Transplanted hair lost after 4 years | Very low |
Notes: aIf premenopausal, women were treated in combination with oral contraceptive therapy. bGiven in combination with topical minoxidil 5% twice daily and intralesional triamcinolone acetonide injections (20 mg/mL three times monthly). c0.5 mg daily for 2 weeks followed by 0.5 mg weekly thereafter for postmenopausal women.