New drug said to stimulate regrowth of a FULL head of hair in just four months

A CURE for baldness could be on the horizon after a new drug was found to restore hair growth in around four months.

The breakthrough offers hope to millions, specifically those people diagnosed with alopecia.

A new drug could offer a cure for baldness, after scientists found it stimulated hair growth in patients with alopecia within four months

The autoimmune disease causes patchy and, in some cases, total hair loss.But scientists believe they could reverse the hair loss thanks to a new treatment.

And, the discovery marks the first step towards a cure for pattern baldness, with the next stage of trials investigating the drug's effect on the most common form of hair loss in men.

The researchers at Columbia University Medical Center found 75 per cent of patients with moderate to severe alopecia showed "significant hair regrowth" after taking the drug ruxolitinib.

By the end of the treatment the average hair regrowth among patients was 92 per cent.

Dr Julian Mackay-Wiggan, associate professor at the university and a dermatologist at New York-Presbyterian said: "Although our study was small, it provides crucial evidence that JAK inhibitors may constitute the first effective treatment for people with alopecia areata.

"This is encouraging news for patients who are coping with the physical and emotional effects of this disfiguring autoimmune disease."

Drug restores hair growth in patients with alopecia in just 4 months

Alopecia areata, the second most common form of hair loss, can occur at any age and affects men and woman equally.

The disease usually causes hair loss on the scalp, but some patients also experience facial and body hair loss, with devastating consequences.

Currently, there are no known treatments that can completely restore hair growth.

Previously, the Columbia researchers identified the specific immune cells and the dominant inflammatory signalling pathways responsible for attacking the hair follicle, putting them into a dormant state.

Their investigations with mouse and human hair follicles showed that topical and oral drugs that block the Janus kinase (JAK) family of enzymes, known as JAK inhibitors, help to reawaken these dormant follicles.

'FABULOUS, CONFIDENT AND FLIRTY' Gail Porter reveals her joy and newfound confidence after having her eyebrows tattooed

'This was so scary' Model with alopecia shares video of herself with no wig to help people 'accept their imperfections'

Say goodbye to hangovers? What is Alcosynth and how does the hangover-free synthetic alcohol actually work?

DO YOU SUFFER? What is eczema, what causes it and how can you treat the painful condition?

'KIDS CALLED ME CRISPY CHICKEN' Comedian reveals her secret eczema CURE - and it's lurking in your kitchen cupboard

They do that by blocking the inflammatory signalling that stops the hair from growing.

In the US two drugs that block the JAK inhibitors are already approved for use by the Food and Drugs Administration.

They are ruxolitinib, a drug used to treat bone marrow malignancies, and tofacitinib, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

In the UK ruxolitinib is also approved by Nice in the treatment of bone marrow disorders.

Dr Raphael Clynes, associate professor of dermatology at Columbia, said: "These disorders are both characterised by dysregulated signalling pathways, similar to alopecia areata, which is dominated by the inferferon signalling pathway.

"Even though the diseases are very different, this common feature gave us the initial idea to test JAK inhibitors in people with alopecia."

Columbia University Medical Centre

The participants in the study, carried out at Columbia University Medical Center, were given the drug ruxolitinib for between three and six months. Pictured is the results at the three months

To arrive at their findings, the scientists tested the drug ruxolitinib on 12 patients with moderate to severe alopecia areata, suffering more than 30 per cent hair loss.

All the patients took the drug twice a day for three to six months.

Nine of the patients showed hair regrowth of 50 per cent or more.

This is encouraging news for patients who are coping with the physical and emotional effects of this disfiguring autoimmune disease

Dr Julian Mackay-Wiggan

And by the end of the treatment period 77 per cent of those who responded to the drug saw regrowth of more than 95 per cent.

One in three of the patients who responded to the treatment had significant hair loss in the follow-up period after medication was stopped.

But their hair loss did not reach pre-treatment levels.

The researchers said the drug was well-tolerated in all participants with no serious side-effects noted.

Those that did occur were rare and included bacterial skin infections, skin allergy symptoms, and lower haemoglobin levels.

Dr Mackay-Wiggan said: "Our findings suggest that initial treatment induces a high rate of disease remissions in patients with moderate to severe alopecia areata, but maintenance therapy may be needed.

Alex Silver PR

Gail Porter is among a number of celebrities who has been diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes partial or total hair loss on the scalp, face and body

News Group Newspapers Ltd

Team GB gold medalist Joanna Rowsell-Shand, pictured left with her team, Elinor Barker, Laura Trott and Katie Archibald, after winning gold in the ladies pursuit at the Rio Games, also suffers alopecia

WHAT IS ALOPECIA AREATA?

Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease, that causes hair loss on the scalp, face and sometimes other areas of the body.People of all ages, both sexes and all ethnic groups can develop the condition.Typically it is diagnosed in childhood, but can be different for every sufferer.While an alopecia sufferer will likely lose a lot of their hair, their hair follicles remain alive.As a result, hair can regrow at any time.There are three main types of alopecia areata:- Alopecia areata patchy, the most common form with one or more coin-sized hairless patches on the scalp or other parts of the body- Alopecia totalis, the total loss of hair on the scalp- Alopecia universalis, the complete loss of hair on the scalp, face and bodyCurrently there is no cure for alopecia areata.Scientists believe many factors contribute to this complex condition, including the possibility that a infection can trigger it, as well as something in a person's surroundings.It is an autoimmune disease, which m eans the immune system mistakes the normal cells in the body as foreign invaders and attacks them.

"While larger, randomised trials are needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of ruxolitinib in people with moderate to severe alopecia areata, our initial results are very encouraging."

The findings back up another study carried out at Stanford and Yale universities, which also showed patients with the condition responded to another JAK inhibitor drug.

Dr Christiano, who took part in that study, said: "Together, the two studies show that we're on the right track."

The Columbia researchers said they now plan to test the drugs in other conditions, including vitiligo, scarring alopecias and pattern baldness.

Dr Christiano added: "We expect JAK inhibitors to have widespread utility across many forms of hair loss based on their mechanism of action in both the hair follicle and immune cells."

The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Source: New drug said to stimulate regrowth of a FULL head of hair in just four months