Janus Kinase Inhibitors For Alopecia Areata

This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the effectiveness and safety of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors in treating alopecia areata (AA) and involved 1710 patients across 7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The study found that JAK inhibitors significantly improved hair regrowth, with patients more likely to achieve 50% and 90% improvements in Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) scores compared to placebo. Oral JAK inhibitors were more effective than topical applications. The mean difference in SALT scores from baseline was -34.52 for JAK inhibitors. There was no significant increase in treatment-related adverse events or severe adverse events with JAK inhibitors compared to placebo. The study concluded that JAK inhibitors are effective and have an acceptable safety profile for AA, but emphasized the need for longer trials to evaluate long-term effects and safety.