A Common Drug Offers New Hope to People With Severe Hair Loss
Two major trials show a JAK inhibitor drug helped over half of severe alopecia patients regrow most of their hair.
A widely-used arthritis medication, upadacitinib, may offer hope for people suffering from severe alopecia areata, according to two large clinical trials. The drug, already approved for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, was tested on nearly 1,400 adults and adolescents with the autoimmune condition that causes nonscarring hair loss.
By the 24th week, approximately 45% of those taking 15mg of upadacitinib and around 54-55% of those taking 30mg had regrown at least 80% of their scalp hair, compared to just 1-3% of those given a placebo. While the results are encouraging, Dr. Keith Kantor, clinical director at Regen Therapeutics, cautioned that not all patients responded to the treatment, and longer-term data was needed to assess durability and safety.
Common side effects included upper respiratory infections, acne, and elevated liver enzymes, while serious adverse events were rare. Upadacitinib, a JAK inhibitor, works by targeting specific immune pathways involved in the disease rather than simply stimulating hair growth externally. This represents a shift in alopecia care, offering patients and clinicians new, more effective options.
Written by urgent.news from Newsweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
![Google’s Pixel Tag picks a bold strategy in a sea of AirTag clones [Gallery]](/img/785857)
