Baricitinib, a pill typically prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis and alopecia, might help slow the progression of type 1 diabetes, researchers said in a new study. The research team theorized that baricitinib might help protect beta cells in people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, researchers said. For the new study, researchers recruited 91 people ages 10 to 30 who'd been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the previous 100 days. The former baricitinib patients also wound up needing as much insulin as the placebo patients, researchers added. "If these trials are successful, the drug could be approved for type 1 diabetes treatment within five years."