Dupilumab Therapy for Alopecia Areata in Pediatric Patients with Concomitant Atopic Dermatitis
January 2021
in “
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
”
New to Alopecia Areata? There is a guide in the encyclopedia. Read the guide → Studysummary This study reported that some pediatric patients with alopecia areata experienced hair regrowth with dupilumab treatment, particularly those with concomitant atopic dermatitis, suggesting dupilumab may be beneficial when traditional therapies fail. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
This study examined the effects of dupilumab therapy on 16 pediatric patients with alopecia areata (AA) and concomitant atopic dermatitis (AD). The patients, who had a median disease duration of 4 years and were refractory to multiple prior therapies, received 300 mg subcutaneous injections of dupilumab every 2 weeks. While 4 patients initially experienced worsening AA, those with follow-up showed improvement over time. A subset analysis of 6 patients with active disease and more than 4 months of follow-up revealed that 4 experienced significant hair regrowth, with an average reduction in the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score of 33.3 after 12 months. The study suggests that dupilumab may be a viable treatment option for AA, particularly in patients with severe AD or asthma, but emphasizes the need for further research with larger cohorts to confirm its efficacy and safety.
