Adalimumab

Excerpt

A 38-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis developed sudden, rapid and extensive hair loss after 2 years of treatment with adalimumab [dosage not stated]; within 3 months, hair loss was typical for alopecia areata (AA) universalis. She had initially received methotrexate and adalimumab, but methotrexate had been withdrawn after 1 year and she had continued adalimumab monotherapy. Adalimumab was discontinued after consultation with her rheumatologist [patient outcome not stated].Author Comment“The present observation ... suggests that adalimumab could trigger AA in predisposed individuals. The rapid development of AA in our patient may also be related to the interruption of methotrexate, an effective treatment of AA, which was associated with adalimumab for 1 year prior to the onset of the disease.” …