Alopecia Areata Awareness

In this video, Carolyn Goh, MD, clinical associate professor in dermatology at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, discusses:

• the recent FDA approval of baricitinib (Olumiant, Lilly) for alopecia areata, which she calls a “major breakthrough for this disease”;
• the biggest challenges in alopecia areata care, including the lack treatment options for pediatric patients and the difficulty in obtaining insurance coverage for treatments;
• treatments in the pipeline for alopecia areata — including two additional Janus kinase inhibitors and other treatments that use different mechanisms of action — and how “it is exciting that there are so many potential medications coming” for alopecia areata;
• studies investigating racial disparities in alopecia areata, why additional research is needed, and the importance of clinicians understanding different cultural views of hair when treating their patients;
• how increased awareness of alopecia areata among the general population due to recent media attention is “fabulous,” and the need to clarify the differences between alopecia areata and other types of alopecia in this population; and
• the importance of increasing clinician understanding of the psychosocial effects of alopecia areata, destigmatizing hair loss and “continuing the education of patients so that they understand” the differences between types of hair loss.