Study: Anti-inflammatory drug may help restore hair in alopecia patients - Sarmad
An international study has shown that upadacitinib, a drug used to treat certain inflammatory conditions, may help regrow hair in patients with severe alopecia areata, following promising results from two phase III clinical trials involving adults and adolescents.
The science website ScienceAlert reported on Sunday that the study, published in the journal JAMA Dermatology, included 1,399 participants aged 12 to 64, including 118 adolescents, all of whom had lost at least half of their scalp hair due to alopecia areata.
Participants underwent two 24-week clinical trials, receiving daily doses of 15 or 30 mg of upadacitinib or a placebo. Researchers assessed hair growth using the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) scale.
The results showed that approximately 45 percent of participants who received the 15 mg dose and 55 percent of those who received the 30 mg dose regained at least 80 percent scalp hair coverage, compared to just 3.4 percent in the placebo group.
Differences between the treatment and placebo groups began to appear from the eighth week. Between 13 and 22.5 percent of participants who received upadacitinib regained full scalp hair coverage, depending on the dose and trial.
Alopecia areata occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles, leading to hair loss. The follicles are not necessarily permanently damaged, which allows for the possibility of hair regrowth once the immune response is controlled.
Researchers suggest that upadacitinib may help reduce immune signals targeting hair follicles, potentially allowing some patients to resume hair growth.
The study results indicate that targeting the immune response could be beneficial in treating severe cases of alopecia areata, although further evaluation of the treatment’s long-term efficacy and safety is still needed.
The researchers came from universities and medical centers in several countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Prominent participating institutions included Harvard University in the United States and the University of Toronto in Canada, along with other academic and medical organizations.
