An arthritis drug has been used to cure a man who was almost completely bald from alopecia universalis.
Tofacitinib citrate was used to treat the 25-year-old who had lost most of his hair after getting alopecia – a disease there is currently no long-term treatment or cure for.
The man had not grown hair for seven years. However, after being treated with the arthritis drug for just three months, he had regrown a head of hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, some facial hair and armpit hair.
Alopecia universalis occurs in approximately one in every 200,000 people. It is thought to be an auto immune disorder and can affect anyone at any age.
Senior author of the study Brett A King, a dermatologist from Yale University School of Medicine, said: "The results are exactly what we hoped for. This is a huge step forward in the treatment of patients with this condition.
"While it's one case, we anticipated the successful treatment of this man based on our current understanding of the disease and the drug. We believe the same results will be duplicated in other patients, and we plan to try."
As well as alopecia, the man was also diagnosed with plaque psoriasis, a condition that meant he had red scaly areas of skin.
Researchers decided to try treating him with tofacitinib – an FDA approved drug for rheumatoid arthritis – as it had been successful used to treat psoriasis on humans in the past. It had also reversed alopecia areata, a less extreme form of the disease, in mice.
King thought the drug might address both diseases simultaneously. After two months of being treated with tofacitinib, the man's psoriasis had started to improve and he had started to grow hair. After three months, he had grown a full head of hair.
Study co-author Brittany G Craiglow said: "By eight months there was full regrowth of hair. The patient has reported feeling no side effects, and we've seen no lab test abnormalities, either."
Published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the authors say this is the first reported case of a successful targeted treatment of alopecia universalis.
"There are no good options for long-term treatment of alopecia universalis," King said. "The best available science suggested this might work, and it has."
The drug treats alopecia by turning off the immune system's attack on hair follicles. The researchers have now submitted a proposal for a clinical trial of a cream form of tofacitinib for treatment of alopecia.
오늘 아침 일찍부터 친구의사들이나 기존의 환자분들로 부터 상기기사에 대한 진위및 자세한 내용을 물어보는 전화가 쇄도하고 있습니다.
궁금해 하시는 분들이 너무 많을것으로 생각되고 또한 앞으로 이런 막연한 치료의 기사에 기존 치료를 중단하거나 게을리 할수 있기에 정확한 정보를 드려야 함에 글을 올립니다.
애석하지만 대부분이 고통받는 남성형탈모의 치료에 대한 기사는 아닙니다.
alopecia universalis는 원형탈모증의 일종으로
원형탈모증 (alopecia areata)는 몇가지 형태로 나타납니다
우리가 흔히 보는 백원이나 오백원짜리 모양의 원형탈모증과
악성형태로 머리카락이 모두 빠지는 alopecia totalis와
아주 악성으로 머리카락뿐 아닌 눈썹 속눈썹 심지어는 음모까지 다빠지는 alopecia universalis로 나뉘는데
기사는 그동안 난치였던 alopecia universalis가 토파시티닙(젤잔스)라는 약복용으로 치료되었다는 케이스 발표입니다.
이종류의 탈모(원형탈모증)는 흔히들 고통받는 남성형 탈모나 여성형 탈모가 몇년 혹은 몇십년에 걸쳐 서서히 진행되는 반면에 어느날 갑자기 생기며 진행도 급속도입니다.
병의 원인 자체도 스트레스등이 원인이며 면역계통의 교란에 의해 균등 외부침입을 막아야할 면역계통이
본인의 모낭을 외부침입으로 인식하여 공격을해서 탈모가 발생하는것입니다.
단순한 원형탈모증은 그동안 잘 치료가 된 반면 악성인 전체성탈모나 범발성탈모는
치유하기 힘들었습니다.
그러기에 좋은 소식이긴 하지만
대부분의 탈모환자에게는 크게 도움이 안되는 소식이므로 지금하고 계시는
피나스테리드나 두타스테리드 성분의 약복용과 미녹시딜 성분의 약 도포를
열심히 하시는것이 좋습니다.
