Thallium poisoning is usually accidental. We present a case of a 51-year-old woman who was evaluated in June 2018 for myalgia, vertigo, asthenia, and abdominal pain. Physical examination revealed temporal-spatial disorientation, jaundice, and asterixis. The laboratory reported the following: bilirubin, 10.3 mg/dL; aspartate transaminase, 78 U/L; alanine transaminase, 194 U/L; albumin, 2.3 g/dL; prothrombin time, 40%; and platelet count, 60,000/mm3. Serology performed for hepatitis A, B, and C; Epstein-Barr virus; cytomegalovirus; and human immunodeficiency virus was negative, and a collagenogram was negative. Physical reevaluation revealed alopecia on the scalp, armpits, and eyebrows; macules on the face; plantar hyperkeratosis; and ulcers on the lower limbs. Tests for lead, arsenic, copper, and mercury were carried out, which were normal; however, elevated urinary thallium (540 µg/g; range, 0.4–10 µg/g) was observed. The patient was treated with ᴅ-penicillamine 1,000 mg/day and recovered her urinary thallium levels were within normal range at annual follow-up. Thallium poisoning is extremely rare and can be fatal in small doses. An adequate clinical approach can facilitate early diagnosis.
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Treatments for alopecia areata include topical corticosteroid treatment, corticosteroid intralesional injection, systemic corticosteroid treatment, PUVA(psoralen-UVA) and topical immunotherapy. The therapeutic effects are variable. Alopecia totalis is hard to treat completely. Topical immunotherapy with dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), squaric acid dibutyl ester (SADBE) or diphenylcyclopropenone (diphencyprone, DPCP) represents the most accepted therapeutic modality for the treatment of extensive alopecia areata. We report two cases of alopecia totalis treated with DPCP. After DPCP treatment, total scalp hair was completely recovered.