Characterizing Loss of Response in Patients During Long-Term Maintenance Therapy with Baricitinib: Results From BRAVE-AA1 and AA2 Trials

The study analyzed the long-term maintenance therapy with Baricitinib 4 mg in patients with severe alopecia areata over 3 years, focusing on the 10.9% (14 out of 129) who experienced a loss of response by Week 152. It was found that those who lost response often had a longer baseline duration of their current episode and more severe baseline alopecia areata. Some patients who lost response had received a COVID-19 vaccination or infection during the maintenance period. The time and extent of response loss varied, with some losing response early in the maintenance phase and others much later. Despite the loss, a third of these patients maintained significant scalp coverage. The study suggests further research to identify factors that trigger loss of response and explore adjunctive therapies to mitigate this risk.