In another example of why it’s good not to reinvent the wheel, Yale researchers have discovered that a drug already used to treat rheumatoid arthritis patients can be used to help people with vitiligo, a disease that strips the skin of color.
Last year, Brett King, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine and principal investigator of this research, published a paper demonstrating the effectiveness of the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib citrate in treating hair loss caused by alopecia areata. Dr. King and his co-author Brittany Craiglow, M.D. then hypothesized that tofacitinib citrate could be effective for vitiligo.
As indicated in the in the June 24, 2015 news release, ”To test the hypothesis, King and Craiglow administered tofacitinib to a 53-year-old patient with prominent white spots covering her face, hands, and body. For more than a year prior to taking tofacitinib, the numbers of these white spots had been increasing. Within two months of treatment, the patient experienced partial repigmentation on her face, arms, and hands—the areas that concerned her most. After five months, the white spots on her face and hands were nearly gone, with only a few spots remaining on other parts of her body. Notably, tofacitinib caused no adverse side effects during the course of treatment.”
“While it’s one case, we anticipated the successful treatment of this patient based on our current understanding of the disease and how the drug works, ” said Dr. King in the June 24, 2015 news release.
Asked about a memorable moment during this research, Dr. King told OTW, “The first visit when it was evident that the patient was repigmenting. I was amazed that the medicine was working to do what I had hoped it would, and of course the patient was elated.”
“I hope to cultivate interest by the pharmaceutical industry and private donors in order to enable clinical trials to evaluate best treatments for vitiligo and other autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.”
“Anecdotally, a few of my patients have commented that their ‘aches and pains’ in muscles and joints disappeared after starting tofacitinib. The anti-inflammatory effects of Janus kinase inhibitors may have very broad application.”
