Oral tofacitinib (Xeljanz), a JAK inhibitor, helped regrow hair in three quarters of pediatric patients with alopecia areata (AA) in a small study conducted at the University of Colorado and published in Pediatric Dermatology.
The 11 pediatric patients, ages 8 to 18 years, all with a diagnosis of AA, were treated with tofacitinib. Eight patients, or nearly 73%, experienced hair regrowth, while the other three (27.3%) did not, as they report in the retrospective chart review.
"A success rate of 73% is very good," said lead author Cory A. Dunnick, MD, professor of dermatology and director of clinical trials at the University of Colorado, Aurora. No serious adverse events occurred, and adverse events of any kind were limited, the researchers found.
''It is important to get information into the literature about potential treatments for severe alopecia areata because there is no FDA-approved therapy at the present time," Dunnick told Medscape Medical News. Patients' insurance plans often deny non-FDA approved therapies unless there are data to support their use, she added.
The researchers found no correlation between the dose, duration of treatment, or the presence of comorbidities and clinical response.
Oral tofacitinibhas been shown to be effective and well-tolerated for AA in adults, the researchers say.
