The comparison of therapeutic effect of Clobetasol propionate lotion and squill extract in alopecia areata: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial

Alopecia areata is a chronic inflammatory disease that characterized by round or oval patches of non-scarring hair loss. From the past, Urginea maritima (white squill) was used for the treatment of hair loss in Iranian traditional medicine. We aimed the comparison of Clobetasol lotion and squill extract efficacy in treatment of alopecia areata in a randomized, double-blind clinical trial. The 42 patients were randomized into two groups. Both groups received topical squill and clobetasol lotion twice daily lotion for 12 weeks. Clinical evaluation included size of patches (using 1×1 cm² schablone), total number of grown hair and number of terminal hair was performed every 2 weeks. Re-growth of terminal coarse hairs was evaluated using a semi-quantitative regrowth score (RGS) (0: no regrowth, 1: growth of <25%, 2: growth of 25-50%, 3: growth of 51-75%, 4: growth of >75%). There were significant differences between RGS4 in two groups after 2- and 3-month treatment (P<0.05). At the end of follow-up period, the mean hair growth rates increased significantly from 6.5 to 11.3 in squill group (P = 0.031) and it improved significantly from 10.3 to 17.9 in clobetasol group (P = 0.001). There were no significant differences between mean hair growth rates in two groups after 3-month treatment (P = 0.969). The lotion 2% of U. maritima bulbs extract showed good effect in 45% patients with patchy alopecia areata and showed moderate effect on re-growth of terminal hairs.