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.
74 citations,
May 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,
December 2015 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,
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.
6 citations,
March 2019 in “JAAD case reports” A new mix of anthralin and calcipotriene might help treat severe hair loss.
148 citations,
December 2018 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.
4 citations,
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.
