Treatment with New Class of Drugs Shows Improvement in 20 Dermatological Conditions

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, July 23, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitors interfere with the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, which can correct problems of inflammation and immune function. Upadacitinib, a JAK inhibitor, has been increasingly used as a treatment for hard-to-treat inflammatory diseases. The first JAK inhibitor, ruxolitinib, was FDA-approved in 2011, and now there are a total of nine approved JAK inhibitors for the treatment of rheumatologic, dermatologic, gastrointestinal, neoplastic indications, and COVID-19. Due to their unique safety and effectiveness profiles, the use of JAK inhibitors for various skin problems is rapidly growing.

In this new study in SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine^®, Shivkar Amara and his coauthors conducted a review of published literature, examining 941 articles. From these, they selected 50 studies that provided insights into the off-label use of upadacitinib for 20 different dermatologic conditions. Most of these conditions showed improvement by actively decreasing the inflammatory response involved in their development.

Upadacitinib works by blocking Janus Kinase, specifically JAK 1, more than others, reducing side effects. It is approved for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (≥ 12 years), rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, non-radiographic axial spondylarthritis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. Upadacitinib shows potential promise in treating a number of other challenging inflammatory skin conditions, treatment-resistant itching, and medication-induced skin reactions. There are ongoing clinical trials for use of upadacitinib for other skin issues including hair loss, sweat problems and pigment loss. The authors emphasize that more clinical trials are needed to evaluate the further indications of upadacitinib and its safety profile.

SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine^® is a peer-reviewed online medical journal that is the official journal of The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine. The mission of SKIN is to provide an enhanced and accelerated route to disseminate new dermatologic knowledge for all aspects of cutaneous disease.

For more details, please visit www.jofskin.org or contact jofskin@gmail.com.

Shivkar Amara
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
shivkar.amara@mountsinai.org