Treatment of Alopecia Areata With Tofacitinib
March 2017
in “
JAMA Dermatology
”
TLDR Tofacitinib helped regrow hair in people with severe alopecia, but side effects occurred and benefits stopped after treatment ended.
In a retrospective study at the Cleveland Clinic involving 13 patients with severe alopecia areata (AA), treatment with oral tofacitinib resulted in a mean hair regrowth rate of 44.3%, with over half of the patients experiencing at least 50% regrowth. The average time to see hair regrowth was 4.2 months. However, some adverse events were reported, including a skin eruption and peripheral edema in one patient, and reversible lipid and liver abnormalities in two patients. The study indicated that while tofacitinib is effective for AA, the benefits ceased after stopping the treatment. The findings are limited by the lack of a control group and the small number of participants.
