An arthritis drug may help treat persons with alopecia, which is an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. The rheumatoid arthritis drug may actually help promote hair growth, based on findings from a small study.
The researchers found that over 50 percent of the 66 patients who were treated experienced hair regrowth within three months.
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Dr. Brett King, assistant professor of dermatology at Yale, said, “There is hope now that we will have more to tell patients than get counseling and a wig.”
The drug seems to block the immune system’s attacks on the hair follicles. The researchers also identified the genes that may predict a person’s response to the treatment.
Whether the effects of hair regrowth are permanent is unknown, but researchers are hopeful that if treatment takes place long enough it can put the condition into remission.
The FDA will need to review the findings of the present study, and a larger study must take place before doctors can start prescribing the arthritis drug as a treatment for alopecia.
Right now, the drug is not approved for alopecia and it may not be covered by insurance, but the researchers suggest that doctors may be able to convince insurers to cover the treatment.
Mohan Garikiparithi got his degree in medicine from Osmania University (University of Health Sciences). He practiced clinical medicine for over a decade before he shifted his focus to the field of health communications. During his active practice he served as the head of the Dept. of Microbiology in a diagnostic centre in India. On a three-year communications program in Germany, Mohan developed a keen interest in German Medicine (Homoeopathy), and other alternative systems of medicine. He now advocates treating different medical conditions without the use of traditional drugs. An ardent squash player, Mohan believes in the importance of fitness and wellness.
