An Excellent Response to Tofacitinib in a Brazilian Adolescent Patient with Alopecia Areata: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
November 2019
in “
Clinical Case Reports
”
TLDR A Brazilian teenager with severe hair loss had total hair regrowth with no side effects after using tofacitinib.
In a case report from 2019, a 13-year-old Brazilian girl with a 5-year history of severe alopecia areata (AA) showed an excellent response to the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, tofacitinib. Previous treatments, including topical betamethasone, oral prednisone, methotrexate, cyclosporine, and intralesional triamcinolone, had failed to induce hair regrowth and had caused adverse effects. After these unsuccessful treatments, the patient began taking tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily. Significant hair growth was observed after 4 months, and after 1 year of therapy, she achieved total hair regrowth, with no side effects reported. The patient continued the treatment for 19 months. This case is notable as it represents the youngest patient reported in Brazil to have successfully been treated with oral tofacitinib for AA and its variants. The case supports the use of tofacitinib as a promising therapy for refractory AA in adolescents.
