The following is the summary of “Refractory Alopecia Areata and Vitiligo Responding to Tofacitinib Monotherapy” published in the December 2022 issue of Dermatology by Perche, et al.
Over the course of the past few years, oral tofacitinib has emerged as a popular off-label therapy option for immune-mediated skin disorders such as alopecia areata (AA), vitiligo, plaque psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis. This trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. There are very few case reports of individuals who were treated with tofacitinib and who had both vitiligo and AA at the same time. Photographs of the patient’s affected disease areas were taken at the beginning of treatment with tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (BID) and at successive return visits throughout the treatment period of 2 years.
Using the terms alopecia areata, vitiligo, and tofacitinib, a search was conducted in PubMed to locate case reports and other literature pertinent to the topic. Tofacitinib was effective in treating 2 people with concurrent vitiligo and alopecia areata, according to 2 case studies that were published in the medical literature. In both situations, in addition to ora, adjuvant therapy or continuing therapy is being administered in addition to oral tofacitinib months of starting treatment with low-dose tofacitinib monotherapy, their patient saw a significant improvement in her atrophic alopecia (AA) and vitiligo.
She also experienced moderate repigmentation of her hands and regrowth of the scalp and eyebrows. The treatment’s results kept getting better over the course of two years with no negative side effects being observed. A patient who suffered from refractory alopecia areata and vitiligo found that monotherapy with tofacitinib 5 mg BID was an effective therapeutic option that was also well tolerated by the patient.