Researchers on the verge of cure for baldness

Researchers in the US have discovered a new novel way of treating baldness, which they say could give hope to people across the world suffering from hair loss.

Experts at Yale University have been able to treat a man with almost no hair on his body, using a drug that is normally reserved for arthritis sufferers.

Currently, there is no cure or long-term treatment for alopecia universalis, the disease that left the 25-year-old patient without hair, but since being treated with the arthritis drug he has grown a full head of hair.

In addition, the patient has grown eyebrows and eyelashes, as well as facial, armpit, and other hair, which he lacked - marking the first reported case of a successful targeted treatment for the rare, highly visible disease.

As well as being diagnosed with alopecia universalis, the man also had plaque psoriasis, leading the researchers to explore the possibility of using a treatment that would affect both conditions.

The experts, led by Dr. Brett A. King, assistant professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine, thought it may be possible to address both diseases simultaneously using an existing FDA-approved drug for rheumatoid arthritis called tofacitinib citrate, which has previously been used successfully for treating psoriasis in humans, as well as reversing alopecia areata in mice.

"This is a huge step forward in the treatment of patients with this condition," Dr King explained. "While it’s one case, we anticipated the successful treatment of this man based on our current understanding of the disease and the drug.

"The results are exactly what we hoped for. We believe the same results will be duplicated in other patients, and we plan to try."

Dr King has now submitted a proposal for a clinical trial involving a cream form of tofacitinib as a treatment for alopecia areata, and said the case highlights the "interplay" between advances in science and the treatment of disease.