Is There a Role for Steroid Creams in Treatment of Alopecia Areata?

Physicians often treat alopecia areata with topical steroids, but there is a dearth of double-blinded studies to document the efficacy of such agents for this condition. In this study from Bangkok, investigators compared 0.25 percent desoximetasone cream with placebo.

Seventy patients applied desoximetasone cream or placebo twice daily for 12 weeks. About 75 percent of patients completed the study. There was no significant difference between groups in the percentage of patients who achieved complete regrowth (58 percent in the active treatment group versus 39 percent in the placebo group). The authors conclude that desoximetasone cream does not offer an advantage over placebo for treating alopecia areata.