Drug called Xeljanz and hairloss (Yale study)

[hellouser]

Given the possible side effects with this drug, it is not the kind of substance people should be trying to obtain and apply themselves off-label. Better to wait for a properly designed and regulated study---if you value your health.

Noone has answered this:

How would it be administered? Topically? Orally? Injections?

[35YrsAfter]

This drug was already available in the market for prescription, and it's main action is to reduce immune response which led to the patient regrowing his hair. Like sdsurfin said, this is unlikely to cure male pattern baldness and not to mention the side effects of this drug are much more prominent and more dangerous than any other hair loss drugs we have now.

FYI don't post links from news website sources like the "daily mail", they often post misleading articles where they cherry pick info from the actual studies. The daily mail almost literally posts a "new cure" for baldness every month, with anything ranging from lasers to prp, which we all know are not cures.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak in person with an MD, PhD who heads scientific and regulatory affairs with a research organization based out of Washington DC. He knows George Cotsarelis, MD personally and mentioned that Dr. Cotsarelis is brilliant.

We talked about PRP, ACell, cell signaling and the immune system's involvement in androgenic alopecia. He believes that as hairs miniaturize, a person's immune system attacks the follicles. He sees the value of ACell in hair restoration surgery but has reservations regarding PRP. He believes it's important to zero in on specifically which platelet growth factors are beneficial to hair growth. He believes that treatments more effective than those currently available will counter PGD2 in miniaturizing hair follicles, nourish miniaturizing hairs with more specific platelet growth factors and address the immune system's involvement in "finishing off" those miniaturizing follicles.

You know that sometimes this type of hair loss reverses itself spontaneously without treatment. So yes, if this Yale regrowth isn't simply a coincidence, there could be some value there.

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office - forhair.com - Cole Hair Transplant 1070 Powers Place Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 - Phone 678-566-1011 - email 35YrsAfter at chuck@forhair.com
The contents of my posts are my opinions and not medical advice. Please feel free to call or email me with any questions. Ask for Chuck

[Haircure]

Noone has answered this:

How would it be administered? Topically? Orally? Injections?

Simple google search will tell you this:

1) this drug costs something like $25000 per year and it is taken orally in tablet form

2) this drug was FDA approved in 2012, as an alternate treatment for those allergic to another rheumatoid arthritis treatment

3) as far as I know, the company (Pfizer) has not conducted long term studies regarding cancer development.

4) to reiterate what others have said.... This drug suppresses the immune system! And it does so to a degree that serious side effects are to be expected

Anyways I'm pretty sure the price tag alone will get people to stay away from the drug

[35YrsAfter]

Simple google search will tell you this:

1) this drug costs something like $25000 per year and it is taken orally in tablet form

Dr. Cole just mentioned to me that this medication has a long list of side effects and is not approved in Europe for that reason. $25,000 per year seems reasonable though.

Chuck

[huawei]

We won't know if it works for MPB unless someone tries it. Nobody still knows for sure how MPB occurs in detail. Might as well give it a shot.

I'll tell you what, if you front up for the treatment and if it works I'll reimburse you the cost.

The reality is that some where out there right now someone with MPB is on this drug and if it grew hair we'd know about it.

[hellouser]

Here's a comment I saw on CNN's article about the news:



Just goes to show that baldness really is disrespected.

[bananana]

christ.

[breakbot]

Here's a comment I saw on CNN's article about the news:



Just goes to show that baldness really is disrespected.

HAHA! You're so funny man.

[Taco sauce]

This is huge!

Couple questions...

Why hasn't anyone tried this before? I can't believe they just waited until a patient with both alopecia AND psoriasis showed up. If it worked on mice why wasn't it tried on humans sooner?

Have the guys in Pennsylvania who are slicing genomes and replicating cells heard of this drug? Seems like they look pretty foolish going as deep as they are when this was sitting on the market since 2012.

[FearTheLoss]

This isn't for MPB. Not a huge deal for us.

[Haircure]

This is huge!

Couple questions...

Why hasn't anyone tried this before? I can't believe they just waited until a patient with both alopecia AND psoriasis showed up. If it worked on mice why wasn't it tried on humans sooner?

Have the guys in Pennsylvania who are slicing genomes and replicating cells heard of this drug? Seems like they look pretty foolish going as deep as they are when this was sitting on the market since 2012.

I don't think you read this thread thoroughly.... First off the drug in question has gone through clinical trials, which means thousands of patients have tried it. If were any good for AGA (male pattern baldness) then it would have been published much sooner. Second, like many have stated already, this drug may be useful for those with AA (alopecia areata) and AT (alopecia totalis) which are a lot rarer diseases and affect a much smaller proportion (0.1-0.2% of people) compared to AGA which is very common. So the reason why it wasn't shown before was because the number of people with AA and AT were so limited it's likely no one in the trials were affected.

One thing you should know about mice... They cannot be compared to humans in terms of drug effectiveness and efficacy in like 90% of the cases. Scientists can cure all sorts of diseases ranging from cancer to hair loss in mice but that doesn't mean those results translate to cures in humans. Growing hair on mice is not difficult and has been done many times already.

Finally to answer your last point, researchers involved in hair loss treatments are in the loop to a greater degree than we are, and are aware of a lot of the research that is going on with other teams around the world, as well as new studies that are being published. I highly doubt those researchers would find out about a new "miracle treatment" at the same time as the rest of us.

[Taco sauce]

Whoops

[sascha]

Man. Could you imagine how pumped a young guy or girl must feel about this news. Just wish that for once such news occure also for the other 95% , but I guess we have play the waiting game. Bitter sweet news. Nonetheless I feel happy for this people.

[hellouser]

Man. Could you imagine how pumped a young guy or girl must feel about this news. Just wish that for once such news occure also for the other 95% , but I guess we have play the waiting game. Bitter sweet news. Nonetheless I feel happy for this people.

Yeah... too bad nobody cares for US to be happy.

[sascha]

Yeah... too bad nobody cares for US to be happy.

Well they care about our money, and maybe after this problem is out of the way something happens to us too. still hope here