In a recent study, researchers found a new treatment could help people regrow hair effectively.
About 75% of people with moderate or severe hair loss regrew their hair strongly.
In addition, by the end of treatment, the average hair regrowth among the patients was 92%.
The research was conducted by researchers from Columbia University.
Previous studies have shown that alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that could lead to hair loss.
The condition is the second most common form of hair loss. It can occur at any age and affects both men and women.
It often causes hair loss on the scalp, but some people also have facial and body hair loss.
Currently, there is no effective treatment for the disease.
In the current study, the team examined a treatment on 12 patients with moderate to severe alopecia areata (more than 30% hair loss).
All of the participants were given 20 mg of oral ruxolitinib, twice a day, for 3-6 months.
They used the treatment for an additional three months to test the long-term effect of this treatment.
The team found that 9 patients had hair regrowth of 50% or greater.
By the end of the treatment period, 77% of those who responded to the therapy had hair regrowth of more than 95%.
In addition, about 30% of patients had hair loss in the follow-up period after the treatment was stopped, but their hair loss was not so bad as pre-treatment levels.
The team also found all patients’ skin had a less inflammatory response. The researchers suggest the drug was well-tolerated in all participants, with no serious adverse events.
The common side effects include bacterial skin infections, skin allergy, and lower hemoglobin levels.
The researchers suggest their findings provide crucial evidence that ruxolitinib may be the first effective treatment for people with alopecia areata.
The study is published in Journal of Clinical Investigation/Insight.
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