Repigmentation and New Hair Growth After Anti-Interleukin-17 Therapy with Secukinumab for Psoriasis

In a case report from 2018, a 61-year-old man with plaque psoriasis and a history of androgenetic alopecia experienced repigmentation and a 15% increase in hair density on his scalp after 6 months of treatment with secukinumab, an anti-interleukin-17 (IL-17) therapy. The patient's hair had been completely gray/white for 10 years prior to the treatment. Trichoscopy confirmed the repigmentation and the presence of some vellus hairs. The patient's hair darkening persisted after a follow-up of 10 months. The authors suggest that the hair darkening and thickening may be due to an increased anagen growth phase resulting from a changed immune control over the hair cycle, specifically the removal of inhibitory influences of IL-17 after secukinumab administration. This case contributes to the understanding that hair whitening and thinning caused by aging might be reversible under certain conditions, such as the administration of specific drugs.