From joint pains to hair gains: baricitinib's double duty for rheumatoid arthritis and alopecia areata

BMJ Case Rep. 2024 Oct 24;17(10):e260021. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2024-260021.

Abstract

Personalised medicine is a key goal across medical specialties today: using biomarkers and knowledge of pathophysiology to ensure the right patients get the right treatment. This becomes more challenging when patients have more than one disease requiring a targeted treatment. Autoimmune diseases commonly co-occur, and thus, multidisciplinary working is important in rheumatology. We present a case where a patient with a new diagnosis of alopecia areata on a background of rheumatoid arthritis was successfully treated with baricitinib monotherapy, with improvement in both conditions.

Keywords: Dermatology; Drugs: musculoskeletal and joint diseases; Rheumatoid arthritis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Alopecia Areata* / drug therapy
  • Arthralgia / drug therapy
  • Arthralgia / etiology
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid* / complications
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid* / drug therapy
  • Azetidines* / therapeutic use
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Purines* / therapeutic use
  • Pyrazoles* / therapeutic use
  • Sulfonamides* / therapeutic use
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • baricitinib
  • Azetidines
  • Purines
  • Sulfonamides
  • Pyrazoles