Trial reportArchives of dermatological research2024
Comparison of efficacy and safety of tofacitinib and azathioprine in patients with alopecia areata and variants: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Archives of dermatological research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Large-scale meta-analysis of infection risk with JAK-STAT inhibitors in 29,000 patients.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Oral Janus Kinase Inhibitors in Adults and Adolescents with Alopecia Areata: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2026Pooled it
- Safety of oral JAK inhibitors in treating alopecia areata: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Potential Treatment of Steroid-Resistant Alopecia Areata Using Allogeneic Exosomes Derived From Adipose Tissue Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: A Case Report.Clinical case reports · 2026Article
- JAK Inhibitors for Alopecia Areata: Approved Therapies, Efficacy, and Unanswered Questions.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Review
- Evaluating Current and Emergent JAK Inhibitors for Alopecia Areata: A Narrative Review.Dermatology and therapy · 2025Review
- From mechanisms to therapies: current advances breakthroughs in alopecia areata immunopathology.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Oral side effects of dermatologic therapies: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Bioinformation · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune pathology manifested by loss of hair.
objectiveTo evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib and azathioprine in patients with AA and variants.
methodsIn this double-blind randomized controlled trail (RCT) carried out at the Department of Dermatology, Medical Teaching Institute-Lady Reading Hospital (MTI-LRH), Peshawar, Pakistan, patients aged ≥ 12 years diagnosed with AA, alopecia totalis (AT) or alopecia universalis (AU) with minimum 50% scalp hair loss for a period ≥ 06 years were included. Patients were randomly assigned to receive oral tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (Group I) or oral azathioprine 2 mg/kg body weight once daily (Group II). The primary endpoint was Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score, evaluated at baseline and 06 months follow-up. Safety was consistently assessed during the study.
resultsA total of 104 patients underwent random allocation into either the tofacitinib group (n = 52) or the azathioprine group (n = 52). The mean (SD) age of patients was 20.23 (7.14) years and 22.26 (8.07) years, while the mean (SD) disease duration was 6.59 (4.01) years and 7.98 (4.40) years in in Group I and II, respectively. Overall, 40 (38.5%) patients were adolescents while 70 (67.3%) were male. 52 (50%) had AA, 37 (35.5%) had AT and 15 (14.5%) had AU. Mean baseline SALT score in tofacitinib group was 91.02 ± 10.21 and azathioprine group was 91.02 ± 10.63, which at 06 months follow-up improved to 14.1 ± 24.6 and 63.9 ± 33.9, respectively (difference, 11.5 points; 95% confidence interval, 38.3-61.3, p < 0.0001). Overall, no major adverse effects and no difference among the minor adverse effects in the two groups (04 adverse events for tofacitinib group and 08 for azathioprine group: p = 0.23) was observed.
conclusionsEfficacy of tofacitinib was significantly higher than azathioprine, whilst both drugs were well-tolerated in patients with AA and variants.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.