TLDR A teenager had both alopecia areata and vitiligo, which are rare to occur together.
A 13-year-old Caucasian female presented with alopecia areata (AA) and later developed vitiligo, a rare co-occurrence of these autoimmune skin diseases. Initially treated with topical mometasone and prednisolone, she showed new hair depigmentation at a 3-month follow-up, leading to a diagnosis of concomitant vitiligo and the addition of topical tofacitinib. This case highlighted a potential pathogenic link between AA and vitiligo, involving CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells, interferon gamma (IFN-ɣ), and IFN-ɣ-induced chemokines. The co-localization of these conditions posed therapeutic challenges and significant psychological distress for the patient.
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74 citations
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August 2016 in “Current opinion in pediatrics, with evaluated MEDLINE/Current opinion in pediatrics” Both vitiligo and alopecia areata involve an immune response triggered by stress and specific genes, with treatments targeting this pathway showing potential.
157 citations
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February 2016 in “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology” A man with vitiligo and alopecia saw quick skin and hair improvement with ruxolitinib, but skin color gains were lost after stopping treatment.
144 citations
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July 2015 in “Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology” Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease affecting about 2% of people, causing significant disability and often associated with mental health issues and other autoimmune conditions.
148 citations
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March 2019 in “Journal of autoimmunity” Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease causing patchy hair loss, often with other autoimmune disorders, but its exact causes are unknown.
6 citations
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March 2019 in “JAAD case reports” A new mix of anthralin and calcipotriene might help treat severe hair loss.
4 citations
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November 2018 in “JAAD case reports” Alopecia areata can sometimes appear as a straight line of hair loss instead of round patches.
May 2018 in “Journal of cosmetology & trichology” Combining platelet-rich plasma therapy with prostaglandin-F eye drops can significantly regrow hair in alopecia universalis.