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Permalink Reply by Lori-akaMimi on August 19, 2014 at 9:23am

It is an FDA approved drug for the treatment of bone marrow cancer (myelofribrosis). The small clinical trial was done at Columbia University Medical Center - it involved 3 patients. One pill, twice a day. All had very positive results within 5 months. This is the same team that was able to identify the cells responsible for destroying the hair follicles (4 years ago, I think). I believe this is the first human trial (they had previously done tests on mice with this drug, as well as with the arthritis drug, tofacitinib). I guess it remains to be seen what will happen once they have stopped taking the drug - and, of course, as with any drug, it does have side effects. BUT - this is VERY encouraging news!  Here's what NAAF had to say about it:  http://www.naaf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_intro

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Permalink Reply by tim75 on August 19, 2014 at 4:40pm

http://news.yahoo.com/drug-could-regrow-hair-hair-loss-221955737.html

The main concern will be side effects and risks associated with a compromised immune system (in all likelihood). Long-term effects will also need to be negotiated: it could effect other organs: liver, kidneys, etc. Still hopeful though.

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Permalink Reply by joshua on August 19, 2014 at 6:17pm

I read an artical saying you would only have to take the med for six months.

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl, Co-founder on August 20, 2014 at 1:02am

I found this on NAAF official website:  

NAAF Encouraged by Yale University School of Medicine Study

The National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) is encouraged by the results of an 8-month course of treatment conducted by researchers at Yale Univer... in which a 25-year-old male patient with alopecia areata universalis was able to regrow a full head of hair, along with eyebrows, eyelashes, and facial, armpit, and other hair when put on a regimen of tofacitinib citrate, an FDA-approved treatment for arthritis.  The drug has also been successfully used in the treatment of psoriasis. 

While we remain hopeful, we wish to remind the alopecia areata community this is a preliminary study with the effects of the drug studied on only one individual.  It should be considered preliminary and not validated at this point, and remains to be further studied in clinical trials.  

A clinical trial with this drug will be starting at Columbia University in the fall of 2014.

You can read the above on NAAF site:  

http://www.naaf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_clinical

 

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