Bye, Rogaine! Using drugs to inhibit a specific group of enzymes in hair follicles suspended in a resting state could help regrow the locks of those suffering from male pattern baldness or other types of hair loss, according to a new Columbia University Medical Center study.
In a series of experiments involving both mouse and human hair follicles, dermatology professor Dr. Angela M. Christiano and her colleagues found that medications designed to block activity in the Janus kinase (JAK) family of enzymes promoted hair growth when applied to the skin.
The study, which was published last week in the journal Scientific Advances, suggests that JAK inhibitors could be used to restore hair growth in any type of hair loss that results from a person’s follicles being trapped in a resting state, the authors explained.
To date, two JAK inhibitors have received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): ruxolitinib to treat blood diseases and tofacitinib for rheumatoid arthritis. Both are being tested currently in clinical trials for alopecia areata, a condition that causes hair loss.
JAK inhibitors cause resting hair follicles to wake up
While Dr. Christiano’s team was studying alopecia areata, which is a form of hair loss caused by an autoimmune attack on hair follicles, they discovered that mice tended to grow more hair when JAK inhibitors were applied to the skin instead of being delivered systematically. This suggested that the drugs turn off the signals that cause the immune system to attack hair follicles.
They analyzed normal mouse hair follicles and discovered that the JAK inhibitors were suddenly waking up resting hair follicles out of the dormant stage of their growth cycles by activating their regular reawakening process. Mice treated with one of the two JAK inhibitors for five days grew new hair within 10 days, while no hair grew on untreated control mice over the same span.
The Columbia scientists also discovered that oral forms of the drugs restore hair growth in some people with alopecia areata. They believe that JAK inhibitors likely act on the same pathways in human hair follicles that they did in mice, which could lead to a new way to reverse hair loss.
“There aren’t many compounds that can push hair follicles into their growth cycle so quickly,” Dr. Christiano said in a statement Friday. “What we’ve found is promising, though we haven’t yet shown it’s a cure for pattern baldness. More work needs to be done to test if JAK inhibitors can induce hair growth in humans using formulations specially made for the scalp.”
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