Serum-Based Assessment of Alopecia Areata Response to Treatment Using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

    May 2025 in “ Diagnostics
    Charlotte Delrue, Arno Belpaire, Sigurd Delanghe, Matthijs Oyaert, Sander De Bruyne, Marijn M. Speeckaert, Reinhart Speeckaert
    TLDR ATR-FTIR spectroscopy could help monitor alopecia areata treatment response non-invasively.
    This study explored the use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with machine learning to monitor treatment response in alopecia areata patients. Serum samples from 42 patients and 41 healthy donors were analyzed, revealing significant spectral differences in key biochemical regions. The logistic regression model effectively distinguished patients from controls with an AUC of 0.85, sensitivity of 0.89, and specificity of 0.71. It also showed potential in predicting treatment response, with an AUC of 0.86. The findings suggest that this technique could serve as a rapid, non-invasive tool for developing objective biomarkers in autoimmune dermatology, though further multi-center trials are needed for validation.
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