Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Leflunomide: an unlikely trigger and mechanistically a beneficial drug for alopecia areata

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:
Clinical Rheumatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  1. Koller G, Cusnir I, Hall J, Ye C ( 2019 ) Reversible alopecia areata: a little known side effect of leflunomide. Clin Rheumatol. 38(7):2015–2016. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-019-04577-3. [Epub ahead of print]

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Tosti A, Misciali C, Piraccini BM, Peluso AM, Bardazzi F (1994) Drug-induced hair loss and hair growth. Drug Saf 10(4):310–317

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Flanagan K, Sperling L, Lin J (2019) Drug-induced alopecia after dupilumab therapy. JAAD Case Rep 5(1):54–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Lakhmiri M, Cavelier-Balloy B, Lacoste C, Cassius C, Baroudjian B, Delyon J, Lebbé C, Reygagne P (2018) Nivolumab-induced alopecia areata: a reversible factor of good prognosis? JAAD Case Rep 4(8):761–765

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Tauber M, Buche S, Reygagne P, Berthelot JM, Aubin F, Ghislain PD, Cohen JD, Coquerelle P, Goujon E, Jullien D, Brixi H (2014) Alopecia areata occurring during anti-TNF therapy: a national multicenter prospective study. J Am Acad Dermatol 70(6):1146–1149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hammerschmidt M, Mulinari Brenner F (2014) Efficacy and safety of methotrexate in alopecia areata. An Bras Dermatol 89(5):729–734

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Sardana K, Gupta A, Gautam RK (2018) Recalcitrant alopecia areata responsive to leflunomide and anthralin—potentially undiscovered JAK/STAT inhibitors? Pediatr Dermatol 35:856–858

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Xing L, Dai Z, Jabbari A, Cerise JE, Higgins CA, Gong W, de Jong A, Harel S, DeStefano GM, Rothman L, Singh P, Petukhova L, Mackay-Wiggan J, Christiano AM, Clynes R (2014) Alopecia areata is driven by cytotoxic T lymphocytes and is reversed by JAK inhibition. Nat Med 20:1043–1049

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kraan MC, Smeets TJ, van Loon MJ, Breedveld FC, Dijkmans BA, Tak PP (2004) Differential effects of leflunomide and methotrexate on cytokine production in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 63:1056–1061

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Cao WW, Kao PN, Aoki Y, Xu JC, Shorthouse RA, Morris RE (1996) A novel mechanism of action of the immunomodulatory drug, leflunomide: augmentation of the immunosuppressive cytokine, TGF-beta 1, and suppression of the immunostimulatory cytokine, IL-2. Transplant Proc 28:3079–3080

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Fragoso YD, Brooks JB (2015) Leflunomide and teriflunomide: altering the metabolism of pyrimidines for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol 8:315–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Marijnen Y, de Korte D, Haverkort W et al (1989) Studies on the incorporation of precursors into purine and pyrimidine nucleotides via “de novo” and “salvage” pathways in normal lymphocytes and lymphoblastic cell-line cells. Biochim Biophys Acta 1012:148–155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. McElwee KJ (1999) Third international research workshop on alopecia Areata. J Invest Dermatol 112(5):822–824

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aastha Gupta.

Ethics declarations

Disclosures

None.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

See related article, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-019-04689-w

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sardana, K., Gupta, A. & Gupta, P.K. Leflunomide: an unlikely trigger and mechanistically a beneficial drug for alopecia areata. Clin Rheumatol 38, 2957–2958 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-019-04669-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-019-04669-0

Navigation