Amy McMichael, MD

Panelists discuss how key factors such as disease severity, patient preference, and payer requirements influence the choice of initial therapy for alopecia areata (AA), highlighting which drug classes have the highest and lowest success rates.

Panelists discuss how the decision to treat vs observe alopecia areata (AA) depends on factors such as disease severity, patient symptoms, and the use of scoring systems to guide treatment decisions.

Panelists discuss how the epidemiology of alopecia areata (AA) varies across different patient populations, with certain forms of the disease being more prevalent in specific groups.

Panelists discuss how managing alopecia areata (AA) involves multiple health care specialties, including dermatology and mental health, and how multidisciplinary care can be optimized, while also addressing strategies to alleviate financial barriers that patients may face in accessing treatment.

Panelists discuss how alopecia areata (AA) is included in the differential diagnosis for hair loss conditions and how a definitive diagnosis is made through clinical evaluation and, when necessary, additional diagnostic tests.

Panelists discuss how ongoing or recurrent hair loss in patients with alopecia areata (AA) leads to significant psychological effects, impacting their mental health, and how different forms of AA may be harder for some patients to cope with, with strategies for managing these psychological challenges in clinical practice.

Panelists discuss how alopecia areata (AA) presents with hallmark symptoms such as sudden hair loss, and how the condition fluctuates over time, making it a relapsing or remitting inflammatory disease.

Panelists discuss how concurrent comorbidities, such as thyroid disorders and other autoimmune conditions, are commonly seen in patients with alopecia areata (AA) and how they complicate disease management and increase the overall burden on patients.

Panelists discuss how alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation that attacks hair follicles, leading to hair loss and varying disease progression.