Hair-Cycle Changes in Two Patients Taking Tocilizumab
August 2013
in “
Joint Bone Spine
”
TLDR Tocilizumab treatment was associated with significant hair regrowth in one patient and temporary hair loss followed by regrowth in another.
The document reports on hair-cycle changes in two patients undergoing tocilizumab treatment for chronic inflammatory joint diseases. The first case involved a 61-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis who experienced substantial hair regrowth after 18 tocilizumab infusions, despite having androgenic alopecia and being completely bald previously. The second case was a 38-year-old woman with juvenile idiopathic arthritis who developed diffuse alopecia after starting tocilizumab, which worsened until she wore a wig. However, hair growth resumed after the seventh monthly infusion and continued until the alopecia completely resolved. The document suggests that interleukin-6 (IL-6), a cytokine expressed in hair follicles, may be involved in hair follicle growth, and that tocilizumab, which targets IL-6, could affect the hair cycle. However, the causal relationship between tocilizumab and hair-cycle disorders in these patients remains debatable, as transient alopecia also occurred with another treatment, abatacept, and hair loss has been reported with TNFα antagonists.
