Treatment of alopecia universalis with topical Janus kinase inhibitors – a double blind, placebo, and active controlled pilot study

Abstract

Background: Oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors are currently being investigated in phase II and phase III clinical trials for several inflammatory skin diseases including alopecia areata (AA). Topical JAK inhibitors have been investigated in atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and AA. While a number of case series using topical JAK inhibitors in AA have been published, to date there have been no randomized controlled clinical trials. Methods: We conducted a phase I, 28 week prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blind study in patients with alopecia universalis investigating hair regrowth with two topical JAK inhibitors, 2% tofacitinib and 1% ruxolitinib. Topical clobetasol dipropionate 0.005% wa..