
Defining Alopecia Areata Severity and Navigating Treatment Options
An expert discusses how treatment for alopecia areata begins with topical/intralesional therapies for limited disease and progresses to systemic options for extensive involvement or treatment resistance. Treatment decisions are guided by disease severity, patient age, comorbidities, and treatment goals. FDA-approved systemic agents include ritlecitinib (JAK3/TEC inhibitor) and baricitinib (JAK1/2 inhibitor), which block inflammatory pathways to promote hair regrowth with favorable efficacy, though they require monitoring for potential adverse effects.
Episodes in this series

Video content above is prompted by the following:
- Describe your approach to initiating treatment in patients with alopecia areata. At what point do you consider systemic treatment for your patients?
- What factors guide your treatment decisions (severity, patient characteristics, patient expectations, etc)?
- Briefly discuss the systemic agents that are currently FDA approved for alopecia areata, including their mechanism of action as well as efficacy and safety data.
- Ritlecitinib (JAK3/TEC inhibitor)
- Baricitinib (JAK 1/2 inhibitor)
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