Use of Excimer Laser for the Treatment of Eyebrow Alopecia Areata in a Pediatric and Adult Population

Use of Excimer Laser for the Treatment of Eyebrow Alopecia Areata in a Pediatric and Adult Population.  Benjamin, LB, Schachner L, Romanelli P, Connelly EA.

It is estimated that approximately 1.7 percent of the overall population experiences an episode of alopecia areata during the course of their lifetime.  Loss of eyebrow hair is commonly seen in patients suffering from alopecia areata, totalis and universalis. The conspicuous nature of the brows results in significant emotional distress and even young children soon learn to tolerate treatment with injections to their eyebrows.. Despite a range of treatment options, long term results are not encouraging.  Recently, there have been reports from Europe using the 308-nm Excimer Laser to achieve scalp hair regrowth in alopecia areata. We felt that this treatment would offer a safe and painless alternative treatment for patient with eyebrow alopecia areata. We treated one eyebrow in seven subjects with this the Excimer Laser. Four patients demonstrated fair to excellent hair regrowth. None had any major adverse events. All those who initially achieved regrowth maintained the effects at 3 and 6 months follow up.

In short, 4/7 of our subjects that achieved fair to excellent regrowth. We believe the use of Excimer laser for the treatment of eyebrow alopecia areata is promising and merits further study.  In conclusion, the excimer laser may serve as an attractive safe and painless therapeutic alternative, especially for children, with eyebrow alopecia areata.