Low-Dose Oral Minoxidil in Lichen Planopilaris: Efficacy and Safety

IF 3.7 4区医学 Q1 DERMATOLOGY Dermatologic Therapy Pub Date : 2025-02-20 DOI:10.1155/dth/1323718

Mina Saber, Shaghayegh Dehghani, Farahnaz Fatemi Naeini, Fatemeh Mohaghegh

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Abstract

Background: Treating lichen planopilaris (LPP) is challenging for dermatologists. Along with anti-inflammatory agents, another goal of treatment is to improve hair thickness in unaffected areas to cover the scars.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of adding low-dose oral minoxidil (OM) to the standard anti-inflammatory treatment of LPP.

Method: A total of 37 patients with LPP were randomly assigned to receive either 15 mg/week methotrexate (MTX) plus topical clobetasol or 1 mg/day minoxidil in addition to MTX plus clobetasol for 6 months. The Lichen Planopilaris Activity Index (LPPAI), dermoscopy, and standard photography evaluated the treatment efficacy.

Results: Both groups exhibited a significant improvement in LPPAI (p < 0.001). The following signs/symptoms demonstrated notable improvements in frequency and/or severity in both groups: pruritus, anagen pull test, follicular prominency, scalp erythema, perifollicular erythema, milky red area, and pigmentation. However, pain, burning sensation, hair tufting, and spreading only improved in the MTX + low-dose OM group. Elongated blood vessels did not improve in either group. In terms of hair thickness and density, there was no significant difference between the two groups.

Conclusion: The addition of 1 mg/day minoxidil to the standard treatment of LPP was found to be safe but did not yield significant effects on LPPAI and hair density/thickness. Notably, two patients who received low-dose OM (2/19, 10.5%) showed hair regrowth in scarring areas. Trials with higher doses of minoxidil may be promising.

Trial Registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials: IRCT20220528055005N1

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来源期刊

Dermatologic Therapy 医学-皮肤病学

CiteScore

7.00

自引率

8.30%

发文量

711

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Dermatologic Therapy has been created to fill an important void in the dermatologic literature: the lack of a readily available source of up-to-date information on the treatment of specific cutaneous diseases and the practical application of specific treatment modalities. Each issue of the journal consists of a series of scholarly review articles written by leaders in dermatology in which they describe, in very specific terms, how they treat particular cutaneous diseases and how they use specific therapeutic agents. The information contained in each issue is so practical and detailed that the reader should be able to directly apply various treatment approaches to daily clinical situations. Because of the specific and practical nature of this publication, Dermatologic Therapy not only serves as a readily available resource for the day-to-day treatment of patients, but also as an evolving therapeutic textbook for the treatment of dermatologic diseases.