by Joseph B. Schneider DO   June 26, 2023

You may have heard about the new class of medication called the Jak-inhibitors, or simply Jak’s (pronounced Jack or Jax).

They are a fairly new class of medication that inhibits the Janus Kinase proteins. These proteins are involved in regulating the process in which cells grow, survive, develop and differentiate. When there is too much activation of these proteins inflammation can occur, causing a variety of skin diseases such as psoriasis, eczema, some forms of alopecia (hair loss), and vitiligo (loss of pigment in the skin). They can also be involved in rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. The first generation of this medication class were all injected into the body. There were some serious potential side effects such as heart attack and stroke. With the newer formulations, they are available now in a pill, or topical creams that are applied directly to the skin, with much less side effect potential.

A few I am particularly excited about:

• Tofecitinib cream (Xeljanz) – approved for vitiligo, which currently has few good treatment options.
• Ruxolitinib cream (Opzelura) – appears to be a very good non-steroid option for eczema.
• Baricininib (Olumiant) – these pill have been approved for alopecia areata.
• Abrocitinib (Cibinqo) – orally taken pills that have been approved for atopic dermatitis.
• Deucravacitinib cream (Sotyktu) – this cream has been approved for psoriasis.