Pill that can cure baldness in five months

Pill that can cure baldness in five months: Twice-a-day tablet that allows alopecia sufferers’ hair to grow back set to become standard treatment for condition 

• Alopecia affects up to one in a thousand Britons, mostly aged 15 to 29
• Believed to be caused by immune system destroying hair follicles
• There is no cure although some people's hair does grow back
• Others remain totally bald for life; new pill is not cure for male baldness 

A twice-a-day pill that can cure baldness caused by alopecia has been developed by scientists.

It has enabled three patients to grow back a full head of hair within the space of just five months.

Researchers now plan to carry out further tests in the hope that it will eventually be rolled out as a standard treatment.

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Before: A patient who underwent the alopecia ruxolitinib drug treatment. He had severe alopecia having lost nearly all the hair on his head 

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During: The treatment can be seen at the three month stage where hair regrowth is almost complete

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After: Having taken the drug for four months the patient has a full head of hair

Could this research be the key to a cure for baldness?

Between 1 in 500 and 1 in 1,000 Britons are thought to suffer from alopecia areata and it is most common in young adults aged 15 to 29.

It is thought to be caused by a problem with the immune system which results in cells destroying the hair follicles.

There are no treatments and although some patients’ hair grows back naturally, others remain completely bald for life.

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TV presenter Gail Porter suffers from alopecia and has hair fall out before returning but falling out again

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2727233/Pill-cure-baldness-five-months-Twice-day-tablet-allows-alopecia-sufferers-hair-grow-set-standard-treatment-condition.html#ixzz3AnSiQ7Ms
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Gail Porter has refused to wear a wig after losing her hair to alopecia when she was in her 30s

Scientists from the Columbia University Medical Centre in New York were able to identify exactly which cells were destroying the hair follicles –they are called T-cell immune cells.

They then tested several treatments known to stop the action of these cells on mice and all resulted in them growing back hair.

The researchers then tested one of these drugs – ruxolitinib – on three men with the condition who were almost completely bald.

They were given a pill to take twice a day and between four and five months all had regrown a full head of hair.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2727233/Pill-cure-baldness-five-months-Twice-day-tablet-allows-alopecia-sufferers-hair-grow-set-standard-treatment-condition.html#ixzz3AnSQase2
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But although it could successfully treat alopecia, there is no suggestion the pill could cure male pattern baldness which affects 6.5 million men in Britain.

This is an entirely separate condition which comes with age and occurs when the hormone testosterone causes the hair follicles to shrink and stop functioning.

Dr Raphael Clynes, whose study is published in the journal Nature Medicine said: ‘We’ve only begun testing the drug in patients, but if the drug continues to be successful and safe, it will have a dramatic positive impact on the lives of people with this disease.

Professor Angela Christiano, another of the authors who is also from Columbia University said: ‘Patients with alopecia areata are suffering profoundly, and these findings mark a significant step forward for them.

‘The team is fully committed to advancing new therapies for patients with a vast unmet need.’

 Although it could successfully treat alopecia, there is no suggestion the pill could cure male pattern baldness which affects 6.5 million men in Britain

One of the best known alopecia sufferers is the TV presenter Gail Porter, whose hair began falling out in 2005 when she was 34.

Although it began growing back in 2006, by the end of the year it had started falling out again although it has since regrown.

Professor David Bickers, a practising dermatologist at Columbia University who has treated many patients with the disease, said: ‘There are few tools in the arsenal for the treatment of alopecia areata that have any demonstrated efficacy.

‘This is a major step forward in improving the standard of care for patients suffering from this devastating disease.’

Last week it emerged that a woman with alopecia had grown back a full head of hair after taking steroid pills for a chest infection.

Sarah Ford, 26, was told by doctors that she could not continue the drugs due to the side effects but remains hopeful her hair will remain.