Immune Suppression Drug Helps Patchy Baldness

[Guest guest]

Immune Suppression Drug Helps Patchy

Baldness

Wed May 8, 1:30 PM ET

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A long-used

anti-inflammatory prescription drug can

help some people with patchy baldness

regrow their hair, according to a new

report.

The drug, sulfasalazine, is often

prescribed for psoriasis and rheumatoid

arthritis. Researchers led by Dr.

N. Ellis of the University of Michigan in

Ann Arbor have shown that sulfasalazine

can also help people with alopecia areata,

a condition characterized by recurrent

episodes of patchy hair loss.

" When it works, it works great, " said

study author Dr. J. Voorhees of the

University of Michigan. However, " in at

least one half of people it doesn't work

at all, " he added.

The study, published in a recent issue of

the Journal of the American Academy of

Dermatology, describes the experience of

four patients using sulfasalazine

(Azulfidine). The investigators also

examined medical records of 249 alopecia

areata patients.

Of the 30 patients given sulfasalazine,

the researchers noted that 7 experienced a

complete regrowth of their hair,

indicating the drug offers a 23% chance of

a total reversal of the condition. Three

other patients reported a reappearance of

some of their hair, but not to a level

deemed " cosmetically acceptable, " the

authors note.

Of the four patients presented as clinical

studies, three experienced a regrowth of

hair while on the medication. However, the

fourth patient, a fraternal twin of one of

the patients in whom sulfasalazine worked,

saw no improvement with the medication.

Alopecia areata is a form of baldness that

affects around 2% of the population during

their lifetime. It occurs in both men and

women. Alopecia areata is characterized by

sudden, recurrent loss of hair in round

spots from any part of the body that has

hair, including the scalp, eyebrows, and

eyelashes. People with this form of

baldness may simply develop a few easily

concealed hairless patches, while some may

lose every hair on their bodies.

" It's a very difficult thing to have, "

Voorhees told Reuters Health.

Alopecia areata occurs, Voorhees

explained, when the body's immune system

cells decide, for unknown reasons, to

attack hair follicles. This, in turn,

causes inflammation around the follicles,

which prevents hair from growing. It is

believed sulfasalazine helps to treat

alopecia areata by inhibiting

inflammation.

Previous treatments for this form of

baldness are not generally effective,

Voorhees said. The most effective

treatment has involved injecting steroids

into hairless patches, which is too toxic

to use on large areas of the body, he

added.

In some cases, hair lost during an episode

of alopecia areata can grow back without

any treatment.

Sulfasalazine is a drug that has been

available for many years. It is used as

first-line treatment for rheumatoid

arthritis in Europe, Voorhees said, and is

also commonly prescribed in the US.

Patients generally tolerate the treatment,

Voorhees said, with some reporting minor

gastrointestinal problems or headache.

Serious side effects, such as liver

toxicity, are rare.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of

Dermatology 2002;46:541-544.