Tofacitinib therapy for children with severe alopecia areata
April 2019
in “Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology”
TLDR Tofacitinib may help treat severe childhood alopecia areata, but risks require careful consideration.
The document described a study evaluating tofacitinib, a JAK inhibitor, for treating severe alopecia areata in children aged 5 years or younger. Conducted at Taipei Veterans General Hospital from January 2016 to January 2018, the study included three pediatric patients with at least 50% scalp hair loss who had not responded to previous treatments and had been on tofacitinib for a minimum of 4 months. The treatment led to one patient achieving over 90% hair regrowth after 12 months, while the other two patients showed more than 50% improvement by 6 and 21 months. Mild side effects like diarrhea and upper respiratory infections were reported but resolved without discontinuing the therapy. The study suggested tofacitinib as a potential treatment option for children with severe AA, emphasizing the need for careful risk-benefit discussions due to the serious potential adverse effects of JAK inhibitors. However, the study's conclusions are limited by the small sample size of only three patients.
View this study on jaad.org →
Cited in this study
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research Topical Janus kinase inhibitors for the treatment of pediatric alopecia areata
Topical JAK inhibitors may help children with alopecia areata regrow hair.
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