Arena Pharmaceuticals is recruiting for a clinical trial in multiple locations. Complete this form , AA-205 online screener, to apply for the trial “Safety and Efficacy of Oral Etrasimod in Adult Participants With Moderate-to-Severe Alopecia Areata.” The screener form has been prepared for Arena by Innovaderm Research.

• • You’re between 18 and 70 years old.
• • You have current alopecia areata with hair loss that affects at least 50% of your scalp.
• • Your current hair loss episode has been lasting for more than 6 months, but less than eight years.

Apply for the Trial    More Information

Learn more about Arena Phamaceutical’s trial with oral Etrasimod and the study locations on the application form.

You may be compensated for time and travel. Talk to your personal doctor before joining a clinical trial. Bald Girls Do Lunch is providing this announcement for informational uses only. It does not imply endorsement. The decision to participate is voluntary and wholly the responsibility of the individual person.

For more detailed clinical information visit clinicaltrials.gov.

Thea Chassin (middle) with two European researchers for GRIDD: Global Research on the Impact of Dermatological Disease. Ms Chassin is the founder and CEO of Bald Girls Do Lunch.

Memo to: Awesome Bald Girls Do Lunch community

Your voices about life with alopecia areata, the ‘voice of the patient’, gains influence in today’s dermatology research. Your participation is the backbone of Bald Girls Do Lunch. You tell us what impacts you most.

“The candor and sheer guts of the BGDL community was top of my mind,” reports Thea Chassin.

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Dept of Dermatology Researchers, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System

Here at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, it is an exciting time for treatment in alopecia areata. Currently we have three trials going on: an injectable, a topical and an oral. Read More

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 It was announced in a press release by Allergan Inc. on 12/3/08 that the drug Lumigan, currently approved to treat glaucoma, is close to FDA approval for cosmetic use as an eyelash growth enhancer for upper lashes – but don’t get excited if you have extensive loss due to AA. It had been discovered in clinical studies that a side effect in glaucoma patients was the growth of longer, darker and fuller lashes. The FDA posted a review of the drug on its Web site Wednesday ahead of a Friday review by an outside panel of medical experts. The advisory panel is being asked to vote on whether it thinks Latisse ( the proposed brand name) should be approved. The FDA usually follows its panels’ advice. If approved, the product would be the first FDA-approved product sold for eyelash enhancement.

Two pilot studies were done with alopecia areata volunteers at the  University of California San Francisco using Lumigan or Xalatan on patients with greater than 50 percent eyelash loss and concluded that it was not effective. No study has yet been done on AA patients with less than 50 percent loss. These pilot studies were a joint effort of the UCSF departments of dermatology and opthalmology with principal investigators Drs. Price and Stamper.

And as with all drugs, there will be risks and the potential for serious side effects in some people.

Click here for FDA briefing documents.