Treatment options for alopecia: an update, looking to the future

Introduction: Hair loss is a very common complaint. The diagnosis is based on clinical, dermoscopic and pathological examination. The treatment is usually continuous and requires strong compliance. Areas covered: This article aims to i) summarize current treatment options for the most common forms of hair loss; ii) update the literature on treatment options to emerge over the 3 years since the release of the first edition of this article in 2009 [1] Tosti A, Duque-Estrada B. Treatment strategies for alopecia. Expert Opin Pharmacother 2009; 10(6): 1017-1026.; and iii) outline future strategies for treating alopecia. Expert opinion: There is good evidence-based information for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. There are very few good-quality randomized studies, and no information about long-term results for most of the available treatments for alopecia areata and cicatricial alopecias. Significant research success has been achieved over the past few years through i) discovering the genetic profile of alopecia areata; ii) working on follicular neogenesis in androgenetic alopecia; and iii) discovering the PPAR-g pathway in scarring alopecia.