Results from a new study in three patients with alopecia areata treated with a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, baricitinib, were able to regrow hair. The study is based on Phase III clinical trials using baricitinib – a drug commonly used for arthritis – to treat alopecia areata, a skin disease characterised by loss of hair from the scalp and sometimes eyebrows and eyelashes.
“This is so exciting, because the data clearly show how effective baricitinib is,” said Dr. Brett King, an associate professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “These large, controlled trials tell us that we can alleviate some of the suffering from this awful disease.”
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles, and which typically occurs in people under the age of 40. At present there is no FDA-approved treatment for the disease.
To test the drug, the researchers conducted two large, randomised trials involving a total of 1 200 people. The participants were adults with severe alopecia areata, who had lost at least half of their scalp hair.
For 36 weeks, participants were randomised to either a daily dose of either 4mg of baricitinib, 2mg of baricitinib, or a placebo. One-third of the patients who received the larger dose grew hair back.
According to the researchers, baricitinib works by disrupting the communication of immune cells involved in harming hair follicles. Baricitinib and other JAK inhibitors are routinely used to treat autoimmune forms of joint disease.
“Alopecia areata is a crazy journey, marked by chaos, confusion, and profound sadness for many who suffer from it,” King said. “It will be incredible to have a medicine to help people emerge on the other side, normalcy restored, recognizable again to themselves and those around them.”
Over the past decade, A/Prof King has developed methods for using JAK inhibitors to treat a variety of skin diseases — including eczema, vitiligo, granuloma annulare, sarcoidosis, and erosive lichen planus.
A/Prof King noted that the clinical trials involving baricitinib are ongoing, allowing researchers to assess the long-term effectiveness and safety of the treatment.
Source: Yale University
