Congratulations to NAAF award recipient Aubrey Martin on her recent publication, “Switching between Janus kinase inhibitors for treatment of alopecia areata: A multicenter retrospective review,” in the January 30, 2026, issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Aubrey was a recipient of NAAF’s 2025 Student Internship Award as well as a Travel Grant awardee. Aubrey, a medical student at the University of Michigan, led the retrospective study while conducting research under the direction of Maryanne Sena, MD, at the Department of Dermatology at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center. The study reviewed records of 108 patients with severe alopecia areata who switched to a new JAK inhibitor after at least 6 months of prior therapy. These were patients who either failed to respond to or lost response to initial treatment, or were required to switch for other reasons (e.g., adverse events, insurance coverage). Overall, two-thirds (66.6%) of patients achieved “some improvement” with initial JAK inhibitor therapy; 35.8% achieved a SALT score < 20, and 27.4% < 10. When patients switched to a second JAK inhibitor, 48.8% achieved a SALT score < 20, and 36.6% achieved a SALT score < 10. Among 21 patients who received a third JAK inhibitor, 52.4% achieved SALT ≤ 20 and 38.1% achieved SALT ≤ 10. Those patients who showed an initial response to their first treatment were significantly more likely to respond to a second JAK inhibitor. The findings suggest that switching JAK inhibitors may be useful, especially for individuals who have not adequately responded to prior JAK inhibitor treatment. Aubrey and the other authors noted that “large-scale, prospective studies are needed.” Read the abstract (full article requires subscription) or a Medscape summary here. NOTE from NAAF: Switching JAK inhibitors is not a decision to be made lightly. Like all healthcare decisions, any changes to treating alopecia areata should be made in partnership with one’s healthcare provider. NAAF is opposed to forced treatment switching due to insurance company policies, a practice known as non-medical switching.
