Treatment of Alopecia Areata (AA) With Dupilumab in Patients With and Without Atopic Dermatitis (AD)

Alopecia Areata Clinical Trial

Official title: Defining Reversal of Alopecia Areata (AA) Phenotype With Dupilumab in Patients With and Without Associated Atopic Dermatitis (AD)

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

Alopecia areata is a medical condition, in which the hair falls out in patches. The hair can fall out on the scalp or elsewhere on the face and body. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune skin disease, which means that the immune system is recognizing the hair follicles as foreign and attacking them, causing round patches of hair loss. It can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis). The scalp is the most commonly affected area, but the beard or any hair-bearing site can be affected alone or together with the scalp. Alopecia areata occurs in males and females of all ages, and is a highly unpredictable condition that tends to recur. Alopecia areata can cause significant distress to both patients and their families. In this study, the aim is to assess the effects of dupilumab in patients with alopecia areata.

Clinical Trial Description

The purpose of this study is to assess whether dupilumab can be a helpful treatment for alopecia areata.

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of a total of 54 subjects with moderate to severe alopecia areata involving 30-100% of the scalp. The researchers expect one third of these subjects to have concomitant alopecia areata (AA) and atopic dermatitis (AD).

The researchers' experience in AD, and past experience in psoriasis showed that biomarker studies in skin tissues are critical to the understanding of key pathogenic pathways that are upregulated in each disease and how well they are suppressed with effective treatment. These mechanistic studies coupled with clinical trials are key in the disease to shed light on important disease mechanisms, and to explain which molecules are suppressed by each therapeutic target. Data shows that IL-13 is significantly upregulated in both AD and AA lesions compared to nonlesional skin. It is very important to associate the clinical responses with suppression of this cytokine and related molecules as well as other pathway cytokines in skin tissues. Both the whole genomic profiling and individual molecular and cellular markers are very important in order to understand how well anti-IL-13 will change/suppress AA-associated pathways and compare with those that will be suppressed in AD.

Since this study is designed to gain basic knowledge rather than to yield information directly related to patient care, the results are not entered in the participants' medical records. If, at a later date, correlations of in-vitro tests and the patients' clinical situation suggest that the results do bear on the patients' health, an amended protocol will be submitted to the IRB so that results can be made available to the medical record. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Alopecia
• Alopecia Areata
• Dermatitis
• Dermatitis, Atopic

• NCT number: NCT03359356
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: January 9, 2018
• Completion date: December 17, 2020