In what could come as welcome relief for people suffering with alopecia areata -- an autoimmune disease that causes patchy, and sometimes total hair loss - researchers have now found a solution to the problem in a drug which is already approved for treating certain bone marrow disorders. Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) said that 75 percent of patients with moderate to severe alopecia areata had significant hair regrowth after treatment with ruxolitinib. Ruxolitinib is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug that inhibits the Janus kinase (JAK) family of enzymes known as JAK inhibitors. By the end of their treatment, average hair regrowth was 92 percent, said the study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation/Insight. "Although our study was small, it provides crucial evidence that JAK inhibitors may constitute the first effective treatment for people with alopecia areata," said Julian Mackay-Wiggan, Associate Pr