TLDR Tofacitinib is an effective and safe treatment for alopecia areata.
This retrospective study assessed the safety and efficacy of oral tofacitinib in 97 patients with alopecia areata (AA), alopecia totalis (AT), or alopecia universalis (AU) over at least 6 months. The mean Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score significantly decreased from 77.66% to 29.15% (p < 0.05). Tofacitinib was effective, with 69.1% of patients showing moderate to complete response and 44.3% achieving over 90% change in SALT score. Adverse effects were generally mild, including abnormal lipid profiles (12.3%) and upper respiratory infections (7.2%). No significant correlation was found between treatment response and patient age, sex, or disease duration, but patchy AA patients showed greater improvement. The study concluded that tofacitinib is a safe and effective treatment for AA, AT, and AU, though further research is needed to understand long-term effects and compare different JAK inhibitors.
Cited in this study
8 / 8 results
40 citations
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August 2022 in “Frontiers in immunology” Blocking JAK/STAT pathways can help treat hair loss from alopecia areata.
2 citations
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April 2022 in “Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology” Tofacitinib may help treat hair loss in children with alopecia areata.
88 citations
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August 2019 in “Frontiers in immunology” Tyrosine kinases are important in skin autoimmune diseases and could be targets for new treatments.
130 citations
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April 2019 in “JEADV. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology/Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology” JAK inhibitors are effective for treating alopecia areata, with most patients seeing hair growth after treatment.
66 citations
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December 2018 in “Dermatology” Both ruxolitinib and tofacitinib are effective and safe for treating severe alopecia areata, but relapses are common.
238 citations
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January 2017 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Tofacitinib is effective and safe for severe hair loss, but full regrowth is less likely after 10 years of hair loss.
222 citations
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September 2016 in “JCI insight” Tofacitinib is safe and effective for severe alopecia areata, but hair loss may return 2 months after stopping treatment.
103 citations
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June 2007 in “Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America” Male pattern hair loss is genetic and influenced by hormones, with treatments like minoxidil and surgery available.
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.
4 citations
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July 2018 in “PubMed” Oral and topical tofacitinib can help regrow hair in people with severe alopecia areata.
May 2018 in “Journal of cosmetology & trichology” Combining platelet-rich plasma therapy with prostaglandin-F eye drops can significantly regrow hair in alopecia universalis.
110 citations
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December 2013 in “The journal of investigative dermatology. Symposium proceedings/The Journal of investigative dermatology symposium proceedings” Alopecia areata is a genetic and immune-related hair loss condition that is often associated with other autoimmune diseases and does not typically cause permanent damage to hair follicles.
