Approved treatments U.S.
May 27, 2010 by admin
Filed under ARTICLES : Hair Loss Treatment
There are only two drug treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for male baldness: Minoxidil and Finasteride. Finasteride is recommended first for male pattern baldness.
Minoxidil (Rogaine/Regaine)
Minoxidil is a vasodilator and originally was exclusively used as an oral drug (Loniten) to treat high blood pressure. It was discovered, however, to have the side effect of hair growth and reversing baldness, and in the 1980s, Upjohn Corporation received FDA approval to market a topical solution that contained 2% minoxidil to be used to treat baldness and hair loss as Rogaine, marketed as Regaine outside the USA.
Objective evidence shows that minoxidil is effective in both the frontal areas of the scalp and the vertex area in treating male-pattern hair loss. At the conclusion of a 48 week study, improvements were seen in the vertex area regions of 51% of men using 5% minoxidil, 42% using 2% minoxidil, and 13% of placebo users. Among these men, moderate to great increases in hair growth were seen in the frontal scalp regions of 19% of men using 5% minoxidil, 10% using 2% minoxidil, and 3% of placebo users.
The method of action for minoxidil is not known, but many speculate that by widening blood vessels and opening potassium channels, it allows more oxygen, blood and nutrients to the follicle. This can also cause follicles in the telogen phase to shed, usually soon to be replaced by new, thicker hairs. As this effect is very temporary and does not seem to change the follicle in any other way, minoxidil needs to be applied regularly (once or twice daily) for hair gained to be maintained.
Finasteride (Propecia)
Finasteride 1mg tablets
Finasteride, initially marketed as the brand-name drugs Propecia and Proscar by Merck, belongs to a class of drugs called aza-steroids. Finasteride is a “DHT inhibitor” and was originally approved by the US FDA for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The drug works by binding to 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme responsible for the conversion of free testosterone to DHT.
Merck sought to find the smallest effective quantity of finasteride and test its long-term effects on 1,553 men between ages 18 and 41 with mildly to moderately thinning hair. Based on their research, 1 mg daily was selected, and after two years of daily treatment, over 83% of the 1,553 men experiencing male hair loss had actually maintained or increased their hair count from baseline. Visual assessments concluded that over 80% had improved appearances.
In 1997, finasteride was approved by the US FDA for the treatment of male pattern baldness. A 5-year study revealed that 9 of 10 men taking finasteride (1 mg daily) experienced visible results (42% of men taking Propecia experienced no further hair loss while 48% experienced no further hair loss and hair regrowth). In clinical studies, finasteride, like minoxidil, was shown to work on both the crown area and the hairline area, but is most successful in the crown area.
Finasteride is usually only prescribed for men and should not be used by pregnant or potentially pregnant women, as it has been speculated that it could cause severe birth defects in male fetuses.
