Acne Exacerbation After Tofacitinib Treatment for Alopecia Areata

October 2021 in “ Dermatology Reports ”

Sawsan A Alharthi, Mohammed G. Turkmani, Mohammed Al Jasser

tofacitinib Janus kinase inhibitor JAK inhibitor alopecia totalis alopecia areata hair regrowth acne exacerbation dermatological conditions

TLDR Tofacitinib, a hair regrowth treatment, may worsen acne.

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.

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research Successful Treatment of Severe Alopecia Areata With Oral or Topical Tofacitinib

4 citations, July 2018 in “PubMed”

Oral and topical tofacitinib can help regrow hair in people with severe alopecia areata.