TLDR Baricitinib helped some patients with tough-to-treat hair loss regrow hair, but more research is needed on its safety.
The study "Efficacy and safety of baricitinib in patients with refractory alopecia areata" conducted by Yuqian Wang and colleagues involved 11 patients with refractory alopecia areata (AA) who were treated with baricitinib. All patients had previously received at least one therapy for more than a year, including minoxidil, steroids, phototherapy, acupuncture, or herbal medicine, but the response was poor. After 20 weeks of treatment with baricitinib, 2 patients (18%) achieved complete hair regrowth, 6 patients (55%) had partial hair regrowth, and 3 patients (27%) had no hair regrowth. Adverse events were mild and included nausea, folliculitis, and mild increases in liver transaminase levels. The study concluded that baricitinib is efficacious in treating refractory AA, but further trials are needed to confirm its safety and efficacy.
148 citations,
March 2022 in “The New England Journal of Medicine” Baricitinib was effective in treating alopecia areata in two major trials.
37 citations,
December 2021 in “Cells” Alopecia areata severity and treatment response are linked to specific cytokine levels.
66 citations,
June 2021 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Baricitinib is effective and safe for treating severe alopecia areata.
29 citations,
December 2019 in “Expert review of clinical pharmacology” JAK inhibitors are a promising new treatment for hair loss and nail problems in alopecia areata.
130 citations,
February 2019 in “JEADV. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology/Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology” JAK inhibitors are effective for treating alopecia areata, with most patients seeing hair growth after treatment.
290 citations,
December 2017 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition causing hair loss, influenced by genetics, stress, and diet, and may be prevented by a high soy oil diet.
148 citations,
December 2018 in “Journal of autoimmunity” Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease causing patchy hair loss, often with other autoimmune disorders, but its exact causes are unknown.
4 citations,
November 2018 in “JAAD case reports” Alopecia areata can sometimes appear as a straight line of hair loss instead of round patches.
May 2018 in “Journal of cosmetology & trichology” Combining platelet-rich plasma therapy with prostaglandin-F eye drops can significantly regrow hair in alopecia universalis.
