autoimmune disease

JAK Inhibitor Therapy for Alopecia Areata

Dr. Aguh presented about alopecia areata (AA) and treatment with JAK inhibitors. First, Dr. Aguh described AA and the categories of disease severity. Common subtypes of AA include patch, totalis, and universalis; additional subtypes include ophiasis, incognito, and canitis subita, which manifests as sudden graying of the hair. She described that fortunately, most patients have…

Off to the Races: Engineering CA(A)R-T Cells for Skin Disease Therapy

CAR T cell therapy is a personalized immunotherapy technology. A patient’s T cells are collected, genetically altered to express chimeric antigen receptors, and reinfused. CAR T cells seek out and kill target cells that express the specified antigen, such as CD19 or B cell maturation antigen (BCMA). Additionally, CAR T cells are programmed to proliferate and produce memory CAR T cells in the presence of target cells. Ongoing research into chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy and chimeric autoantibody receptor (CAAR) T cell therapy for cancers and autoimmune diseases, including pemphigus vulgaris (PV) may lead to clinical trials.