Acne Exacerbation After Tofacitinib Treatment for Alopecia Areata

    October 2021 in “ Dermatology Reports ”
    Sawsan A Alharthi, Mohammed G. Turkmani, Mohammed Al Jasser
    From the encyclopedia
    Tofacitinib →

    a JAK inhibitor for alopecia areata and other autoimmune conditions

    Alopecia Areata →

    autoimmune disorder causing patchy hair loss

    Image
    Studysummary This study describes a case where a patient with alopecia totalis treated with the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib showed hair regrowth but experienced worsened facial acne. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
    The paper discusses a case of a 28-year-old male with a 10-year history of alopecia totalis (AT) who was successfully treated with tofacitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor. The treatment showed promising results for hair regrowth. However, four months after the initiation of the AT treatment, the patient's facial acne significantly worsened. This suggests that acne exacerbation could be a potential side effect of JAK inhibitors, which are relatively new treatments for dermatological conditions like moderate to severe forms of alopecia areata (AA). The authors call for larger studies to further investigate the link between acne exacerbation and the use of JAK inhibitors.
    Discuss this study in the Community →