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Hair loss treatments take aim at the immune system

Nature Biotechnology volume 41, pages 1179–1181 (2023)Cite this article

Drugs commonly used in rheumatology, the JAK inhibitors, are opening up treatment options for people with autoimmune-driven hair loss, and new mechanistic knowledge is also helping scientists tackle androgenic alopecia, the commonest cause of baldness.

“The approval of ritlecitinib is hugely important,” says Brett King, a dermatologist at Yale School of Medicine, who was involved in the Litfulo trial. The biggest breakthrough is that Litfulo, unlike Olumiant, can be prescribed to adolescents, he says. The other advantage is that, by virtue of having two approved drugs, people whose condition fails to respond to one now have the option to try another.

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  1. Canterbury, UK

    Charlotte Harrison

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  1. Charlotte Harrison
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Harrison, C. Hair loss treatments take aim at the immune system. Nat Biotechnol 41, 1179–1181 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01939-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01939-w

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