Alopecia areata associated with abacavir therapy

Medication-induced hair loss: An update

This article discusses drug-induced hair loss, which can occur with many drugs including cytotoxic agents, biologics, and immunomodulating agents, among others. It outlines the diagnosis and management of drug-induced alopecia, with a focus on recently implicated drugs.

CHAC1 as a novel biomarker for distinguishing alopecia from other dermatological diseases and determining its severity

Alopecia Areata (AA) is characterised by an autoimmune response to hair follicles (HFs) and its exact pathobiology remains unclear. The current study aims to look into the molecular changes in the skin of AA patients as well as the potential underlying molecular mechanisms of AA in order to identify potential candidates for early detection and treatment of AA. We applied Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to identify key modules, hub genes, and mRNA-miRNA regulatory networks associated with AA. Furthermore, Chi2 as a machine-learning algorithm was used to compute the gene importance in AA. Finally, drug-target construction revealed the potential of repositioning drugs for the treatment of AA. Our analysis using four AA data sets established a network strongly correlated to AA pathogenicity based on GZMA, OXCT2, HOXC13, KRT40, COMP, CHAC1, and KRT83 hub genes. Interestingly, machine learning introduced these genes as important in AA pathogenicity. Besides that, using another ten data sets, we showed that CHAC1 could clearly distinguish AA from similar clinical phenotypes, such as scarring alopecia due to psoriasis. Also, two FDA-approved drug candidates and 30 experimentally validated miRNAs were identified that affected the co-expression network. Using transcriptome analysis, suggested CHAC1 as a potential diagnostic predictor to diagnose AA.

Doravirine/tenofovir disoproxyl fumarate/lamivudine-induced alopecia: A case report

We report here a case of alopecia probably caused by the fixed dose combination of doravirine/tenofovir disproxil fumarate/lamivudine (DOR/TDF/3TC) in a 46-year-old male living with HIV, previously treated with tenofovir disproxil fumarate and lamivudine-containing antiretroviral combinations. After having excluded other causes of hair loss such as sexually transmitted disease or drugs associated with alopecia, as well as poor immune-virologic conditions (i.e. low CD4⁺ cell count and/or high HIV viral load), a toxic effect of doravirine might be hypothesized. DOR/TDF/3TC was immediately stopped and rilpivirine plus tenofovir alafenamide fumarate/emtricitabine was started. Four weeks after changing the antiretroviral regimen, the patient reported signs of hypopigmented hair regrowth. The association between the episode of alopecia and DOR/TDF/3TC was scored as probable according to the Naranjo causality scale. We concluded that alopecia was probably related to DOR but whether it is self-limiting, cannot be predicted at this stage.

Alopecia After Switch to Tenofovir Alafenamide in 6 African American Women

No cases of tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)–induced alopecia have been reported in the literature. We describe 6 cases of hair loss in African American female patients after switching to TAF and aim to raise awareness about this potential adverse effect of TAF, which could predominate in certain patient populations.