EFFICACY OF LOW LEVEL LASER THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF ALOPECIA AREATA

Background: Alopecia areata is a chronic inflammatory disease which affects the hair follicles and sometimes the nails. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of low level laser therapy in the treatment of alopecia areata of the scalp. Method: Twenty three patients (14 male and 9 female) had 2 or more patches of the scalp, one patch was left for comparison as a control patches. The age ranged from 22 to 39 years with 30 ± 6.09 years mean. The study patches received12 sessions of low level laser therapy for 2 minutes/cm? of the affected patch with the dose of 1.5 J/cm?. Each subject received 3 sessions per week for one month. Hair count, the hairs number within the one square centimeter space and Visual analog scale of hair loss were assessed pre-treatment, post-treatment and follow-up time (2 months). Results: showed significant improvement in the two outcomes of study patches (p < 0.005) with non-significant improvement of control patches ( p > 0.005). Conclusion: Using low level laser therapy was effective in the treatment of alopecia areata of the scalp.