New drug reveals regrowth in mice in ten DAYS

But while all of this might sound good to those suffering from male pattern baldness, the immune system suppressants leave patients vulnerable to infections, which is why using them to resolve cosmetic concerns such as baldness is a risky idea.

In experiments with mouse and human hair follicles, researchers have found that certain existing drugs promote rapid and robust hair growth when directly applied to the skin.

The two treatments which have been recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration both work by inhibiting the activity of Janus kinase (JAK) enzymes. The drugs include ruxolitinib (Jakafi), which is now approved to treat blood diseases, and tofacitinib (Xeljanz), which is typically used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

In the new study, the researchers found the two drugs woke follicles up by blocking enzymes that caused them to stop growing hair.

Drugs developed to fight cancer and rheumatoid arthritis might work as creams to stimulate hair growth – offering a potential baldness cure, researchers reported Friday.

However, the treatment has not yet been tested on humans, and results that seem promising in lab animals don’t always turn out to work in people. “Some topical agents induce tufts of hair here and there after a few weeks, but very few compounds have this potent an effect so quickly”. Blockage of enzymes awakened the resting hair follicles and new hairs sprouted quickly, just within 10 days.

Dr. Garza adds, though, “More work needs to be done to translate these findings to a product which can be tested in a clinical trial on people”.

However, studies have shown that around 50% of men over 50 years old experience a few form of hair loss.

Research at Columbia University Medical Center has lead to a new breakthrough which could serve as the first real step towards a cure for human baldness, according to UPI. Researchers claim that direct application of the drug on scalp can activate cells in hair follicles and triggers hair growth.

During tests with mice, the research team discovered that rubbing the drugs on the skin could pave the way for more hair to grow than when the drugs were handed out to small mammals methodically.

It remains to be seen if JAK inhibitors can reawaken hair follicles that have been suspended in a resting state because of androgenetic alopecia (which causes male and female pattern baldness) or other forms of hair loss. The drugs, she said, cost $3,000-$9,000 per month now, though costs of a potential hair loss product are unknown.