Scientists have developed a new drug against baldness: it can restore up to 80% of hair

Scientists have approved a drug that helps patients with alopecia areata to get rid of hair loss. After conducting a clinical trial, the scientists concluded that patients as young as 12 years old can take the medicine.

According to ScienceAlert, hair loss in some people occurs when the immune system begins to attack hair follicles. Some patients with severe forms of the disease lose all their hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows.

"A new drug called rituximab can help change this. During the second and third phases of clinical trials, the oral drug reduced up to 80 percent of scalp hair loss in nearly a quarter of all patients, and it is currently the only treatment for severe alopecia that is both effective and efficient," the report says.

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It is noted that in 2022, the FDA approved another oral alopecia drug called baricitinib, intended exclusively for the treatment of adults. It helps in about 20% of cases.

The new drug rituximab will become available to patients in the coming weeks as an alternative to baricitinib.

It will become a treatment option for young patients.

The publication writes that these drugs stop baldness and promote hair growth by weakening the body's excessive immune response to alopecia.

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This drug stops immune cells from initiating a specific signaling pathway that can cause inflammation in the hair follicle. The study was published in The Lancet.

Earlier, scientists from the New York University Grossman School of Medicine found the reason why human hair loses its color as we age.

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