Emerging drugs for alopecia areata: JAK inhibitors

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Alopecia Areata is a common form of non-scarring hair loss that usually starts abruptly with a very high psychological impact. Due to the still not completely understood etiopathogenesis, at present there is no treatment that can induce a permanent remission and there is no drug approved for the treatment of this disorder.

Areas covered: Leading existing treatment are briefly overviewed and then ongoing research on Janus Kinases Inhibitors is discussed, reviewing trials with oral and topical formulations so as new opportunities for other forms of alopecia, such as cicatricial alopecia.

Expert opinion: JAK inhibitors represent a promise among alopecia treatments, but further studies are needed on long term safety. There is still no validated dosage for alopecia areata and the vehicles used for topical formulations seem not yet ideal in terms of skin penetration and reduced systemic absorption. Hopefully several studies are ongoing and we hope, in the near future, that JAK inhibitors will become part of the armamentarium to treat alopecia areata patients in terms of safety and costs.

KEYWORDS:

• Alopecia
• alopecia areata
• cicatricial alopecia
• treatment
• tofacitinib
• ruxolitinib
• baricitinib
• JAK inhibitors

Declaration of interest

A Tosti is Principal Investigator for Incyte and Aclaris. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. A reviewer on this manuscript has disclosed consultancy for Aclaris and Incyte.

Additional information

Funding

This paper is not funded.