Alefacept for severe alopecia areata: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the efficacy of alefacept for the treatment of severe alopecia areata (AA).

DESIGN:

Multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

SETTING:

Academic departments of dermatology in the United States.

PARTICIPANTS:

Forty-five individuals with chronic and severe AA affecting 50% to 95% of the scalp hair and resistant to previous therapies. Intervention Alefacept, a US Food and Drug Administration-approved T-cell biologic inhibitor for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Main Outcome Measure Improved Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score over 24 weeks.

RESULTS:

Participants receiving alefacept for 12 consecutive weeks demonstrated no statistically significant improvement in AA when compared with a well-matched placebo-receiving group (P = .70). Conclusion Alefacept is ineffective for the treatment of severe AA.

• Authors: Bruce E Strober, Kavita Menon, Amy McMichael, Maria Hordinsky, Gerald Krueger, Jackie Panko, Kimberly Siu, Jonathan L Lustgarten, Elizabeth K Ross, Jerry Shapiro
• Journal: Archives of dermatology (Arch Dermatol) Vol. 145 Issue 11 Pg. 1262-6 (Nov 2009) ISSN: 1538-3652 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19917955 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Dermatologic Agents
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins
• Alefacept

Topics

• Academic Medical Centers
• Adolescent
• Adult
• Aged
• Alefacept
• Alopecia Areata (diagnosis, drug therapy)
• Dermatologic Agents (administration & dosage)
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Double-Blind Method
• Drug Administration Schedule
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Injections, Intramuscular
• Male
• Middle Aged
• New York City
• Probability
• Recombinant Fusion Proteins (administration & dosage)
• Risk Assessment
• Severity of Illness Index
• Statistics, Nonparametric
• Treatment Outcome
• Young Adult