Rheumatoid arthritis and a severe form of hair loss called alopecia areata they may not seem to have much in common. The first causes joint pain and swelling, while severe alopecia leads to dramatic, irregular hair loss, reports Noi.md with reference to descopera.ro.
But in both cases, the immune system has decided that the body’s own cells are a threat: severe alopeciathis causes the immune system to attack the hair follicles, while in arthritis it attacks the tissues of the joints.
However, the results of a third-phase clinical trial showed that treatments for these two conditions could also be similar, with an arthritis drug called baricitinib being effective. alopecia areata one-third of patients.
Severe alopecia could be treated in a new way
This is not a miracle cure for those with alopecia areatabut it is an interesting medical development that could be available soon for patients like treatment option.
„Alopecia areata It’s a crazy journey, marked by chaos, confusion and deep sadness for many who suffer from it, ”says Brett King, a dermatologist at Yale.
“These large, controlled studies tell us that we can alleviate some of the suffering caused by this terrible disease,” says the dermatologist.
Immune system inhibitors
The reason why arthritis medicine also works in alopecia is a protein called Janus kinase or JAK. These enzymes are part of a signaling pathway called JAK-STAT, which is involved in many areas, including the immune system.
JAK inhibitors, such as baricitinib, are able to reduce this immune response in some patients by allowing hair follicles to start growing again. Science Alert.
How the study was conducted
The study was performed in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study that met the gold standard for analyzing how baricitinib works for those with severe alopecia.
The researchers divided 1,200 patients into three groups. Participants were given either a placebo, 2 milligrams of baricitinib or 4 milligrams of baricitinib for 36 weeks. Those given 4 milligrams of baricitinib had the most obvious results, with over a third of those patients having significant hair growth.
The study used a so-called Instrument for Severe Alopecia (SALT) to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug. The score starts at 0 (no hair loss) and reaches 100 (complete hair loss).
The results of the study
At the beginning of the study, all participants had a SALT score of over 50, and by the end of the study, approximately 35% of patients treated with 4 milligrams of baricitinib had a score of 20 or less.
Approximately 20% of patients taking 2 milligrams of baricitinib also achieved a score of 20 or less.
“The primary outcome was a SALT score of 20 or less at week 36. A SALT score of 20 or less was identified as a significant outcome of treatment for patients with severe alopecia,” the team wrote in its study.
“Most patients in whom the primary outcome was achieved had SALT scores of 10 or less at week 36,” the paper said.
The new treatment for severe alopecia has side effects
Unfortunately, this has not been without side effects for all patients, with researchers reporting a number of symptoms in the test groups compared to controls, including worsening acne, upper respiratory tract infections, headaches, urinary tract infections. and high cholesterol levels.
In addition, due to the ability of the drug to disrupt the immune system, it may also decrease the immune system’s ability to protect the body from real threats, with an increase in infections previously seen in those using the drug for arthritis.
Given this, very few participants in the new study dropped out due to side effects, suggesting that they were generally tolerable.
More research is underway to confirm long-term safety and efficacy, but this is a promising result.
With the completion of the third phase of the results of this study, we could soon see this drug used to treat severe hair loss, thus providing relief for many patients.
The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
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