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Case Reports
. 2019 Nov 21;7(12):2539-2542.
doi: 10.1002/ccr3.2484. eCollection 2019 Dec.

An excellent response to tofacitinib in a Brazilian adolescent patient with alopecia areata: A case report and a review of the literature

Rachel Berbert Ferreira  1 , Sineida Berbert Ferreira  2 , Morton Aaron Scheinberg  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

An excellent response to tofacitinib in a Brazilian adolescent patient with alopecia areata: A case report and a review of the literature

Rachel Berbert Ferreira et al. Clin Case Rep. .

Abstract

Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease, with a negative impact in health-related quality of life, especially when affecting children and adolescents. Current medical therapies, mainly for severe disease, are not effective. There are no FDA (Food and Drug Administration)- or ANVISA (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária)-approved therapy for children with alopecia areata. JAK inhibitors are emerging as a promising therapy.

Keywords: JAK inhibitors; adolescent; alopecia areata; dermatology; hair loss; tofacitinib.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Before evolving to alopecia totalis, the patient had patches on her scalp but failed to regrowth with oral and topical treatments
Figure 2
Figure 2
Before evolving to alopecia totalis, the patient had patches and ophiasic pattern alopecia, resistant to treatment
Figure 3
Figure 3
After developing alopecia totalis and right before starting treatment with tofacitinib 5 mg BID
Figure 4
Figure 4
Seven months after, she started treatment with tofacitinib 5 mg BID
Figure 5
Figure 5
The patient had an excellent regrowth but still had an ophiasic pattern. After almost 1 y of treatment, she started to regrowth hair on the occipital region as well
Figure 6
Figure 6
After 19 mo of treatment with tofacitinib 5 mg BID
Figure 7
Figure 7
After 19 mo of treatment with tofacitinib and full regrowth, including on the occipital region
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Xing L, Dai Z, Jabbari A, et al. Alopecia areata is driven by cytotoxic T lymphocytes and is reversed by JAK inhibition. Nat Med. 2014;20(9):1043‐1049. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Craiglow BG, King BA. killing two birds with one stone: Oral tofacitinib reverses Alopecia universalis in a patient with plaque psoriasis. J invest dermatol. 2014;134(12):2988‐2990. - PubMed
    1. Scheinberg M. Ferreira, S: reversal of alopecia universalis with Tofacitinib : a case report. Ann Intern Med. 2016;165:750‐751. - PubMed
    1. Ferreira S, Scheinberg M, Steiner D, Steiner T, Bedin GL, Ferreira RB. Remarkable improvement of nails changes in Alopecia universalis with 10 months of treatment with Tofacitinib: a case report. Case Rep Dermatol. 2016;8(3):262‐266. - PMC - PubMed

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