Laser and light therapy combined with topical minoxidil for alopecia areata: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

• Published in: Lasers in medical science 2023-02, Vol.38 (1), p.74-74, Article 74
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jianfeng, Lin, Peng, Lin, Haiyue, Ma, Cong, Hu, Yi, Wang, Yingdong, Zhang, Yu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alopecia; Alopecia Areata - drug therapy; Alopecia Areata - radiotherapy; Baldness; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide lasers; Clinical trials; Contact dermatitis; Dentistry; Erythema; Excimer lasers; Excimers; Humans; Lasers; Light; Light therapy; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Meta-analysis; Minoxidil; Minoxidil - therapeutic use; Optical Devices; Optics; Pain; Photonics; Phototherapy; Pruritus; Quality assessment; Quantum Optics; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Review Article; Software; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 1435-604X; 0268-8921; 1435-604X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10103-023-03734-0

We aim to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of using laser and light combined with topical minoxidil for alopecia areata. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), VIP database, and Wanfang Data from their inception to September 18, 2022. The risk of bias of the included RCTs was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration tool. RevMan 5.3 software and Stata 14.0 software were used to perform the statistical analysis. The GRADE system assessed the quality of evidence. Ten studies were enrolled finally. The results of the meta-analysis showed that compared with topical minoxidil alone, the 308-nm excimer laser/light or He-Ne laser combined with topical minoxidil could reduce the SALT (Severity of Alopecia Tool) score (MD= −5.88, 95% CI [−9.79, −1.98], P =0.003). Whether fractional CO 2 laser (RR=1.29, 95% CI [1.14, 1.46], P