Janus Kinase Inhibitors a Treatment Option for Alopecia Areata

For patients with alopecia areata (AA), treatment options for the autoimmune disease that attacks the hair follicles is limited. But a team of researchers have found that Janus kinase (JAK) Jinhibitors may be a favorable and effective treatment option for patients with AA. Their research was presented at the American Academy of Dermatology’s 2023 annual meeting in New Orleans, LA.

The researchers conducted a single-arm meta-analysis to determine the efficacy of JAK inhibitor therapy in adult patients with AA. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were used to gather studies that met the criteria, and the keywords “Alopecia areata” and “Janus Kinase Inhibitors” were used to narrow the search.

After their search, 385 studies were selected for a full review and 9 articles were used in the researchers’ final analysis, and the severity of the alopecia tool (SALT) was assessed as the primary outcome.

In total, the researchers assessed the data of 1010 patients. Those with AA received oral JAK inhibitor treatment, which included tofacitinib, ruxolitinib, vbaracitinib, CTP-543, ritlecitinib, and brepocitinib.

“The pooled proportion of clinical response analysis of SALT 50 showed a success rate of 48.3% (95% CI 40.5-56.2 %; p < 0.001),” the researchers said of their findings.

Based on these findings, the authors suggested that JAK inhibitors are effective in treating AA.

“However more extensive studies are necessary to determine the long term effects of treatment, especially regarding recurrence rates,” the researchers concluded.

Reference:

Rodrigues ACLF, Madeira TM, Pessoa BMS, et al. Treatment with oral Janus kinase inhibitors in adults patient with alopecia areata: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Poster presented at: American Academy of Dermatology’s 2023 annual meeting; March 17-21, 2023. New Orleans, LA. Accessed March 21, 2023. https://eposters.aad.org/abstracts/44182