Dupilumab Improves Disease Severity of Alopecia Areata

Dupilumab improved the severity of alopecia areata (AA) in patients with and without concomitant atopic dermatitis (AD), according to Guttman-Yassky et al in the journal Allergy.

Researchers performed a phase 2a randomized clinical trial to evaluate dupilumab in patients with AA with and without concomitant AD. Patients were randomized two to one to receive weekly dupilumab (300 mg) or placebo for 24 weeks, followed by another 24-week dupilumab open-label phase. The primary outcome was change from baseline in the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score at week 24.

In total, 40 patients were in the dupilumab group and 20 patients were in the placebo group. Disease worsening was documented in the placebo arm, but improvement was determined in the dupilumab arm (2.2 [95% CI, -0.6 to 4.94; P<.05]). SALT 30, SALT50, and SALT 75 improvement was found in 32.5%, 22.5%, and 15% of patients after 48 weeks of dupilumab treatment.

“This hypothesis-driven trial is the first to indicate the possible pathogenic role of the T_H2 axis and T_H2 targeting in [patients with] AA,” concluded the study authors.

Reference

Guttman-Yassky E, Renert-Yuval Y, Bares J, et al. Phase 2a randomized clinical trial of dupilumab (anti-IL-4Rα) for alopecia areata patients. Allergy. 2021;10.1111/all.15071. doi:10.1111/all.15071