Alopecia Areata Treated with Homoeopathic Preparation of Phosphorus: Two Evidence-Based Case Reports

Abstract

AbstractAlopecia areata (AA) is a type of non-scarring, autoimmune hair loss on the scalp or body characterised by solitary or multiple bald patches. In modern medicine, treatment is mainly in the form of corticosteroids. Homoeopathy provides a better response by framing the totality and choosing the medicine based on symptom similarity. The presented case reports evaluated the utility of individualised homoeopathic treatment on AA with evidence-based assessment. The two cases were prescribed individualised homoeopathic medicine and followed for more than 1 year. The cases were assessed by Severity Alopecia Tool (SALT) score, Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile 2 (MYMOP2) and periodic photographic evidence. Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homoeopathy (MONARCH) was used to assess the clinical outcome's causal attribution to the prescribed homoeopathic medicine. Both patients were given Phosphorus in centesimal potency resulting in a complete cure with a full growth of hair and without further relapse of symptoms. SALT score reduced from 24.04 to 0% in case 1 and 8.4 to 0% in case 2 after 18 months of treatment. MYMOP2 profile score declined from 3.5 to 0 in case 1 and 5.5 to 0 in case 2. The physician assessed the MONARCH score as +09 and +10 for cases 1 and 2, signifying strong causal attribution to Phosphorus prescribed in both cases. Individualised homoeopathic treatment caused improvement in AA along with general well-being. Systematic research with a larger sample size would be required to confirm observations of these two cases.