Craiglow BG and colleagues. Topical Ruxolitinib for the Treatment of Alopecia Universalis. JAMA Dermatology Published online December 9, 2015
In the last few years, the spotlight has been on two new drugs – tofacitinib and ruxolitinib as potential treatments for alopecia areata. Readers may remember the news story that broke in 2014 with the finding that a young man with advanced alopecia areata regrew his hair following treatment with tofacitinib and then a few months later of a publication of 3 patients who benefitted from the drug ruxolitinib.
In a new research study, the drug ruxolitinib was shown to help promote eyebrow growth in a young woman with alopecia areata. What was particularly unique about this study is that the researchers formulated the rug in a topical formulation rather than as a pill. Within 12 weeks of using the medication twice daily in the form of a cream, the patient had regrown her eyebrows. The topical treatment was very well tolerated. With the exception of a small drop in the patient’s white blood cell counts, there were no other side effects.
Comment: This is an exciting study showing yet another use of these medications. Topical medications are generally safer compared to oral medications. However, for many drugs, topical medications won’t necessarily have the same degree of benefit as the pill formulation. This is tremendously exciting and opens the doors now to many new areas of research.
