This is how Olumiant works, the drug against alopecia areata approved in the United States – Society
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug olumiant based on baricitinibas a treatment for alopecia areata.
It is the first existing drug for this type of disorder that causes baldness on the head and other areas of the body suffered by more than 30,000 Americans each year. Olumiant is already approved as a treatment forrheumatoid arthritis as well as againstcovid-19for some hospitalized adults.
WHAT IS ALOPECIA AREATA?
The alopecia areata It is an autoimmune disease that affects the hair follicles and causes hair lossnot only on the head but also in various areas of the body.
In this type of alopecia, the hair loss is focused on a specific area of the body and it does so in small, round areas, although in some cases, the hair loss may be greater.
After the gala of the Oscars of this 2022 and the famous smack that Will Smith hit Chris Rock Bor making fun of his wife’s physical appearance Jada Pinkett Smiththere was a lot of talk about this disease since Jada suffers from it and that is why she is shaved to zero.
Until now, there was no treatment to combat alopecia areata. Olumiant became the first drug to combat it.
THIS IS HOW OLUMIANT WORKS
Olumiant is the first drug approved to combat alopecia areata. This drug is a Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitor that blocks the activity of one or more of a specific family of enzymes, interfering with the pathway that leads to inflammation.
To test the efficacy and safety of this drug, two studies were conducted involving patients with 50% hair loss on the scalp.
These patients, divided into groups of three, received: a placebo, 2 milligrams or 4 milligrams of Olumiant each day. The primary measure of efficacy in both studies was the proportion of patients achieving at least 80% hair coverage at week 36.
Thus, in one of those two studies, they estimated that 22% of the 184 patients who received 2 milligrams of Olumiant and 35% of the 281 patients who received 4 milligrams of Olumiant achieved adequate scalp capillary coverage, compared with 5% of the 189 patients who received a placebo.
SIDE EFFECTS OF OLUMIANT
Here are some of the side effects of Olumiant, according to the FDA:
- upper respiratory tract infections,
- headache
- acne
- high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia)
- increase of an enzyme called creatinine phosphokinase, urinary tract infection, elevations of liver enzymes,
- inflammation of the hair follicles (folliculitis), fatigue, lower respiratory tract infections, nausea, genital yeast infections (candida infections), anemia, low number of certain types of white blood cells (neutropenia), abdominal pain, shingles and increased of weight.
In addition, the FDA considers it convenient to “closely monitor the appearance of signs and symptoms of infection during and after treatment; evaluating patients for active tuberculosis infection and testing for latent tuberculosis prior to treatment with Olumiant.”