Recent Advances in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata

The expert panel highlights the psychosocial burden of alopecia areata on patients and discusses the current treatment paradigm.

Drs. Raj Chovatiya, George Han, and Brett King discuss the use of baricitinib for the treatment of moderate to severe alopecia areata.

The expert panel discusses the secondary analysis from the phase 3 BRAVE clinical trials of baricitinib in alopecia areata.

Dr. Brett King shares novel mechanisms of action under research for the treatment of alopecia areata in different age groups.

Expert dermatologists discuss the importance of continued education for physicians treating patients with alopecia areata.

In this MEDcast episode, Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, and George Han, MD, PhD, interview Brett King, MD, PhD, to discuss the latest advances in the treatment of alopecia areata.

Panelists discuss the pathophysiology of alopecia areata, including the risk factors for disease onset and progression, as well as the role of Janus kinase (JAK) in the disease’s mechanisms.

Panelists discuss the importance of early diagnosis of alopecia areata and how it influences treatment strategies and potential patient outcomes.

Panelists discuss the factors that guide their treatment decisions for alopecia areata, including severity, presentation, patient characteristics, and comorbid conditions, while also addressing how they prioritize these factors and incorporate patients’ expectations into their treatment strategy.

Panelists discuss how they assess the standard of care for managing alopecia areata.

Panelists discuss the long-term study results for baricitinib in alopecia areata, noting that nearly 90% of patients maintained a SALT score of ≤20 from week 52 to week 104, with over 70% achieving a SALT score of ≤10, while also addressing the reported treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), which were mostly mild to moderate, with common events including COVID-19 infection and upper respiratory tract infections.

Panelists discuss the differences in mechanisms of action among the FDA-approved Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors for alopecia, including baricitinib, deuruxolitinib, and ritlecitinib, and explore how selective inhibition differs from pan-inhibition in influencing treatment efficacy.

Panelists discuss the efficacy and safety data for ritlecitinib and deuruxolitinib in treating alopecia areata, highlighting that ritlecitinib achieved SALT scores of ≤20 in 23% of patients at week 24 compared to 1.6% in the placebo group, while deuruxolitinib showed SALT scores of ≤20 in 42.5% (8mg BID ) and 56.8% (12mg BID) of patients, with treatment-emergent adverse events primarily being mild to moderate, including upper respiratory tract infections and headaches for ritlecitinib, and headache and acne for deuruxolitinib.

Panelists discuss their clinical experiences with Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors for treating alopecia, noting observed differences in outcomes and tolerability among various systemic JAK inhibitors, while highlighting the advantages of these therapies over traditional local and systemic treatment options.