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To the Editor: I have been treating many patients who have been afflicted with alopecia areata, totalis, and universalis. The method of therapy previously described by me (Alopecia Areata, Partialis, and Totalis: Treatment with Cortisone, Hydrocortisone, and Their Analogs, Prednisone and Prednisolone, Medical Times, October, 1956) is the cautious and regular use of corticosteroids, commencing with cortisone and hydrocortisone, and more recently the use of prednisone, prednisolone, and methyl prednisolone (Medrol).
I have been supplementing the above therapy with weekly and subsequently biweekly injections of zinc corticotropin, which is given simultaneously to prevent the suppression of adrenal gland activity.
I have observed that in a large majority of alopecia totalis patients there is a pallor and deficiency of normal pigmentation of the scalp and face. As the corticosteroid-corticotropin therapy continues, the growth of scalp hair is accompanied by gradual return of pigment to the face, scalp, and new hair,