Category Archives: Angela Christiano

Alopecia Areata, Angela Christiano, JAK Inhibitors

Alopecia Areata and Dr. Angela Christiano

4 Comments

Despite the main focus of this blog being on androgenetic alopecia (AGA), I have made a number of posts about alopecia areata (AA) during the past year. Note that alopecia areata can be in the form of alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis.

Over 95 percent of hair loss patients suffer from AGA, also known as male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss.

Alopecia Areata Treatment Breakthroughs

Over the past year, a lot of good news has come out regarding alopecia areata treatments involving JAK inhibitors. This is due to the great work of people such as Dr. Angela Christiano and Dr. Brett King.

Alopecia Areata Hair Loss Photo
Alopecia Areata hair loss patient from Dr. Christiano’s presentation.

In my opinion, there is also a chance that these JAK inhibitor drugs may benefit people with certain types of androgenetic alopecia. In particular, when there is an inflammatory (dandruff, itching, scaling) component involved too. However, this is pure conjecture on my part and entirely unproven.

Dr. Angela Christiano Video

Dr. Angela Christiano recently published a good video on alopecia areata, and it includes her personal experiences with the disease. There is more of a female focus in Dr. Christiano and her Columbia University team’s latest research, which is a rarity in the hair loss world.

This video is embedded below.  A few of the more interesting sections include:

  • 11:00 = I was quite surprised to read that alopecia areata affects 5.3 million people in the US, with a 1.7 percent lifetime risk.
  • 11:42 = comparison with genes involved in psoriosis and vitiligo.
  • 12:15 and 12:45 = most important part of the presentation related to research on Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. These include Ruxolitinib (JAK 1,2); Tofacitinib (JAK 1,2,3); Baricitinib (JAK 1,2); VX-509 (JAK 1,2); and R348 (JAK 1,2). The last three mentioned are not yet approved, while the first two are FDA approved for certain applications. You can read more about those drugs via the “Categories” section in the left hand column of this blog.
  • 12:57 = Results on mice.
  • 23:47 = Great results on a woman and later on a man.

Columbia University, Abatacept, Alopecia Areata, Angela Christiano

Columbia University Alopecia Areata Study Enrollment

18 Comments

I previously covered in detail the recent groundbreaking results pertaining to JAK inhibitors in treating alopecia areata. In particular, from the bone marrow cancer drug Ruxolitinib (Columbia University — Dr. Angela Christiano); and arthritis drug Tofacitinib (Dr. Brett King).

Columbia University Alopecia Areata Study Enrollment

Columbia University is now expanding its testing to cover more volunteers and a wider range of JAK inhibitors and related anti-inflammatory drugs. They have a page (now gone) with an “Alopecia Areata Study Consent Form and Inquiry Response Form”. In the details, they state the following:

Current study status:

Ruxolitinib — Closed to enrollment. Study procedures ongoing..

Abatacept — Currently enrolling. Total number of subjects to be enrolled: 15.

Tofacitinib — Enrollment to start approximately Sept.-Oct. Total number of subjects to be enrolled: 10-15.

Injection steroids/Triamcinolone (Kenalog) — Open to enrollment.

Sites: Columbia University and the University of Minnesota.