[Selective changes in lymphocytic differentiation antigens in the peripheral blood of patients with alopecia areata treated with oral zinc].

Recent research has shown that the regrowth of hair in alopecia areata (AA) is associated with the normalization of the CD4+/CD8+ ratio, which is usually in an unbalanced state. This dysbalance is represented by an increased level of CD4+ and a decrease of CD8+ cells and found not only in the bulbar region but also in the peripheral blood. Since zinc generally acts as a polyclonal T-cell activator and has been proved a useful oral therapeutic in AA, we additionally controlled the levels of CD4+ and CD8+ cells as well as other lymphocyte subpopulations in the peripheral blood of AA patients before and during oral treatment with zinc. Our data revealed a significant raise of CD3+, CD8+, CD19+, HLA-DQ+, HLA-DR+, and Leu 2a+8+ cells during oral therapy with zinc. We conclude that the successful treatment of AA with zinc may be due to immunomodulation, especially through the increase of CD8+ cells.