Alopecia areata treated with efalizumab: a case with significant hair re-growth after long-term therapy.
Efaluzimab has recently been described as a treatment for alopecia areata. Conflicting reports and studies have spurred discussion as to whether efaluzimab is an effective treatment of alopecia areata. Proposed mechanisms for this immune-modifying agent have suggested that efficacy is derived from efaluzimab's effects on T cells. However, a recent molecular study found no alteration in T cell action around hair follicles at six months of treatment and thus the study concluded that efaluzimab was not an effective treatment. This article describes a nine-year-old male with recalcitrant alopecia totalis for seven years who had been nonresponsive to therapeutic intervention. He was started on efaluzimab for severe atopic dermatitis and began to re-grow scalp hair at one year of treatment. This discussion suggests that longer treatment durations may be needed for treatment effects to be seen in some patients.
Smith
Jeffrey R
JR
Department of Dermatology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX 79430, USA.
Akin
Russell S
RS
Wells
Michael J
MJ
D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D002648:Child; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; C472181:efalizumab