Alopecia areata have caused hair loss for over 6.5 million people in the United States alone. Now, researchers have found a drug that has shown promising results in hair regrowth. This FDA approved drug is called Ruxolitinib and is being used to treat a rare kind of bone marrow disease.
Researchers from the Columbia University medical Center, led by Dr. Rafael Clynes, are hopeful that this drug could be the answer to alopecia. According to Dr. Clynes, "We've only begun testing the drug in patients, but if the trial continues to be successful and safe, it will have a dramatic positive impact on the lives of people with this disease."
Alopecia areata is an auto-immune disease that attacks the hair follicles, leaving patients with a bald patches of skin over the head, face, and throughout the body. This condition, however, has also been known to cause complete hair loss in some cases. Although experts do not know exactly what causes it, this latest study may give them more information about the disease and about potential treatment.
By targeting and tracing multiple immune pathways of affected patients, researchers were able to discover that a specific set of T-cells was responsible for the attack on the hair follicles and that their action can be stopped by JAK inhibitors. They then tested two of the already FDA approved JAK inhibitors in the market-Ruxolitinib that has been approved for the treatment of bone marrow disease, and Tofacitinib that is a rheumatoid arthritis medication. Both of these drugs stimulated hair regrowth in the subjects within 12 weeks after administration and the positive reaction continued four months even after the treatment has stopped. Although researchers say that further testing is necessary, the initial findings are "exciting news, for patients affected by alopecia.