Rossi (Sapienza), ‘alopecia areata unrecognized pathology’

2023-10-19 16:26:03

“Alopecia areata is a rare autoimmune disease but is not recognized as such. So first of all, political intervention is necessary to ensure that it is included within the LEAs, essential levels of assistance. The recognition of the disease can certainly open up a whole series of opportunities for the patient so that he can access very specialized treatments.” Alfredo Rossi, associate professor at the Dermatology Clinic Policlinico Umberto of the La Sapienza University of Rome, told time.news Salute, speaking at the presentation of “Alopecia Areata Day”, an initiative illustrated to the Ministry of Health in the presence, among others, of the undersecretary Marcello Gemmato.

“The patient must be able to identify the competent doctor, the clinic to which he can turn – underlines Rossi – but above all access that whole series of investigations that can reveal the other immunological diseases associated with alopecia areata. In this way we can make the patient much more aware of his condition and have the possibility of discovering other comorbidities. The person with alopecia is assisted 360°, because the patient with alopecia areata not only has the problem of hair loss but also profound psychological distress caused by the pathology.”

In Italy it is estimated “just over 117,900 people suffer from it but this is an underestimated figure because we don’t see all those forms of alopecia areata that start with a patch and maybe heal in six or seven months”. As regards the “therapeutic possibility and follow-up of our patients – explains the expert – we have specific drugs for alopecia areata” such as baricitinib, “fundamental for a chronic-relapsing disease from which one cannot cure but can go into remission for long periods of time.” At the basis of the rare disease that affects adults (more women than men), in particular in the age group between 20 and 30 years and children between 4 and 5 years old, “there is certainly a genetic substrate that determines an imbalance in the system immune system that accompanies all autoimmune diseases – concludes Rossi – but it is striking that the disease affects a large portion of the population”.