Tofacitinib Reverses Alopecia Universalis Hair Loss

On this blog, I primarily focus on androgenic alopecia (AGA), which is also known as male pattern baldness (MPB). This kind of baldness results from male hormones (in particular, dihydrotestosterone) and scalp hair follicle genetic susceptibility to miniaturization. The vast majority of men who suffer from hair loss are experiencing androgenic alopecia.

Alopecia Areata, Totalis and Universalis

A less common form of hair loss is called alopecia areata in which hair is lost from some areas of the body in small clumps. More severe forms of alopecia areata include: alopecia totalis (when hair is lost from the whole scalp); and alopecia universalis (when hair is lost from all over the body, including the scalp).

Tofacitinib Cures Alopecia Universalis

Today, it was announced that Yale scientists led by Dr. Brett King had cured alopecia universalis in a man. They did this via just administering an existing FDA-approved rheumatoid arthritis drug called tofacitinib citrate (brand name Xeljanz, manufactured by Pfizer). The photos they presented are quite extraordinary. Also see the study link at the end of this post.

Tofacitinib reverses alopecia areata.
Tofacitinib reverses alopecia areata and universalis.

Besides curing this person’s hair loss, the drug also significantly improved his psoriasis. Lead scientists Dr. Brett King and his wife Dr. Brittany Craiglow credited Dr. Angela Christiano’s earlier work as inspiring them to try this experiment in one of their human patients. They now hope to start larger clinical trials. Dr. Christiano’s earlier work entailed tofacitinib as well as ruxolitinib reversing alopecia areata in mice.

I believe that there could also be an autoimmune inflammatory process involved with androgenic alopecia (just as with alopecia areata and psoriasis). A large proportion of men suffering from androgenic alopecia complain about scalp itching, dryness, dandruff and psoriasis type symptoms.

Many find top rated dandruff shampoos to be particularly effective at dealing with this inflammation. It would be quite something if tofacitinib also helped people like us who are suffering from androgenic alopecia.

The full study titled “Killing Two Birds with One Stone: Oral Tofacitinib Reverses Alopecia Universalis in a Patient with Plaque Psoriasis” is currently available online.

Update: CNN also now published this story, with a word of caution from George Cotsarelis regarding the side effects of tofacitinib. In his opinion, there is no immune system component to androgenic alopecia.

6 thoughts on “Tofacitinib Reverses Alopecia Universalis Hair Loss”

  1. I have hair but dark all around thin and blondish front hair line and crown, strangely two froms of color on my head, ok my diet is amazing I workout, I don’t smoke I don’t drink. I am a.dance teacher in hopes to get my hair back and knowingly I have hair its quit thin and hard to explain but its there hard to see. I believe I can get all my hair back if I could just get help. Money is tight but this has become an emotional problem and I pray all the time to gain this wish. Thanks for reading my comment, im.amazed by the stories ive heard about hair growth.

  2. I wish people like this lot would stop offering false hope. Genetic hair loss is not the same as alopecia so there’s that ‘hope’ dead and buried. It also really irks me when we are told in a manner of fanfare that possible (and they only hint possible) cures are some 10 or 20 years away. For Christ’s sake. Tell me when you’ve actually got the magic potion; just don’t tell me it’s umpteen years away! Incredible to believe that it’s 2014 and baldness is still a blight.

    1. I’m 30 years old and have alopecia universalis sense I was 27 years old , I’m praying that soon Dr. Brett King will have the solution to put to a end on this immune problem that causes so many of us suffer this condition God Bless Dr King.

  3. I have AGA also vitiligo it’s now going on 2 years 2 months. I would love to try anything ,I’m 64 years old so if you want Call me please what do i have to lose. I STILL HAVE SOME HAIR BUT NOT FOR LONG

  4. This is so interesting. I was just researching on treatments for Vitiligo and came upon an article which mentioned that researchers recently had great success with Ruxolitinib Cream 1.5%. I then thought to do a search to see if there was possibly a connection between Vitiligo and Alopecia, since I have both, and came upon this article. It sounds very promising. I also have problems with Malabsorption due to not having enough acid in my stomach and I just recently learned this can cause autoimmune diseases. I suspect this somehow plays into my Vitiligo and Alopecia. Anyway that is my two cents worth. If ever you need test subjects which have both of these conditions, I would be a willing participant. Hopefully you will consider a study on the possible relationship between these two, in the near future. Please keep up the great work. It is appreciated.

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