Alopecia Universalis Under Adalimumab Therapy in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis

May 2018 in “ Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie ”

Predrag Ostojić, Slavica Pavlov-Dolijanović

alopecia universalis adalimumab TNF-α inhibitor interferon-α rheumatoid arthritis Humira TNF inhibitor

Studysummary This case report describes a 56-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis who developed alopecia universalis during treatment with the TNF inhibitor adalimumab, with no hair regrowth after stopping the medication. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

A 56-year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis developed alopecia universalis, a complete loss of hair, during treatment with the TNF-α inhibitor adalimumab. Despite discontinuing adalimumab, her alopecia did not improve. The study suggested that interferon-α might play a key role in the inflammation process leading to hair loss after TNF-α inhibition. The risk/benefit ratio of continuing or stopping TNF inhibitors should be carefully considered when alopecia occurs during treatment.

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