Hair Loss Medicine

The latest study results end up a decade long discussion of whether a regular usage of the prostate medications such as Propecia (finasteride) and Avodart (dutasteride) can increase or reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. These two drugs are used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. It has been argued many times that they can also be used in the prevention of prostate cancer but many researches have been warning of the opposite. It is well known that these two drugs can interfere with PSA tests used to detect prostate cancer and, therefore, should not be used if you are supposed to take such test.

The recent study shows that although the regular use of these anti-androgen drugs can reduce the overall risk of developing prostate cancer, it ironically increases the risk of developing more dangerous high-grade prostate cancers. The manufacturers of Proscar and Avodart now must change the labeling of their drugs to warn the patient about an increased risk of developing a high grade prostate cancer. Finasteride, an active substance of Proscar is used also in Propecia for treating hair loss in a lower dosage of 1mg but despite the lower dosage Propecia will also have to carry the same warning.

A recent research study conducted on hair transplant candidates proved that there is no difference in numbers and density of stem cells in the bald scalp when compared with normal hairy scalp. This gives hope to hair loss sufferers that these cells could be reactivated and start producing hair again. So far the only proven treatments that can do this in some patients to some limited extent are Propecia (generic finasteride) and as its name says Regaine (minoxidil). Hair transplantation can only move hair and so the active stem cells around the scalp. However, there seems to be difference in abundance of progenitor cells between bald and normal scalps. This tells us that in the bald scalp stem cells are not activated into progenitor cells, which is the target cell, needed to produce hair. This finding may not sound too different from hair cloning where active stem cells from your own hairy scalp are injected into the bald scalp. But this would be a major short cut in this effort and could help increase effectiveness of such treatment.

Many hair loss sufferers may be asking themselves how to estimate the cost of a potential hair transplant. This question does not have a straight answer unless you know the exact details related to the surgery. The biggest pricing factor obviously is a number of grafts you need and the cost per graft. The price per graft depends on the clinic that will perform the surgery and the surgical method that will be applied. From the two currently available hair transplantation methods - follicular unit transplantation and follicular unit extraction the first one is less expensive but leaves you with a long scar at the back of the head. This method is mainly used in patients that are at a later stage of the balding process and need to cover relatively large bald areas. Its additional advantage is very high yield.

Follicular unit extraction is a more expensive technique as it consists in harvesting donor hair follicles one by one and, therefore, leaves behind practically no scars. Its major drawback, besides higher price, is lower yield as some harvested follicles can be cut through and die. When it comes to estimating the number of grafts needed, it obviously depends on how advanced your baldness is and what kind of cosmetic improvement you wish to achieve. Secondly, the number of hair grafts also depends on the quality of your donor hair. Positive factors that can save you money include such as your hair color being close to the color of your skin and your hair being thick and curly as these qualities help you produce satisfactory cosmetic results with lower number of grafts.

One of the most promising approaches to ultimately solving the hair loss problem seems to be based on controlled skin damage that could produce new hair growth. The current hair loss treatments such as Rogaine (minoxidil) or Propecia (finasteride) cannot produce sufficient new hair growth whereas hair transplantation options are restricted by the limited amount of donor hair available, which is not sufficient to effectively cover large bald areas. Therefore, one of the options, which are still being explored, is to use techniques that would remove the skin’s top layers and which would cause some cells in the skin to turn themselves into hair producing cells.

Although this research, mainly conducted by the US medical device firm Follica is yet in the initial stage of development there are already some, scientifically non-proven devices such as scalproller that base their effectiveness on this approach. Similar devices to the scalproller, called dermarollers, have been used to treat acne scars and wrinkles for some time, and to increase the penetration of skincare products. Scalproller uses tiny needles that penetrate into the scalp’s upper skin layers causing light damages that are said to induce new hair growth. In addition it also helps the penetration of topical hair growth treatments such as Rogaine, improving their effectiveness. The difference between dermarollers and a scalproller is mainly in the material used to make the needles. Scalproller is a new, yet untested device and consumers should know that it has not been clinically tested neither proven for treating hair loss and its potential side-effects are therefore unknown.

Avodart (dutasteride) has gone through all 3 Phases of clinical testing in exploring its use as a hair loss treatment for male patients and the clinical study results are pending. Whereas most hair loss patients are waiting for this release, a different study by the Avodart’s originator - GlaxoSmithKline - has been released recently. It reports that dutasteride could reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. This is in line with earlier knowledge of similar drug used for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and baldness in male patients – finasteride (Proscar/Propecia). Because it is too early to say whether finasteride or dutasteride are able to significantly reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer, there is no consensus at the moment amongst the experts regarding the use of hormone-blocking medications as prostate cancer prevention drugs as some object that the improvement has not been too significant and any such treatment might give a false sense of security. The study also shows that there was an increased incidence of heart failure in patients treated by Avodart, which is another serious issue that needs to be further investigated. However, some doctors suggest that for men with significant prostate cancer risk factors it may be prudent to consider the use of either Proscar or Avodart at low doses for prevention of this condition.

Hair multiplication, also known as hair cloning, is amongst the most promising future treatments for hair loss that are being currently examined. The main focus of this method is to overcome the shortage of donor hair, which happens to be the main weakness of hair transplantation. The number of donor hair and so the amount of hair that can be used is limited as hair transplantation simply consists in moving hair from the back and from the sides of one’s scalp to the balding area. The aim of hair multiplication is to grow new hair follicles in vitro and then inject these newly grown cells into the balding area where they would induce new hair growth. The two frontrunners in this research until recently were Bosley, the largest chain of hair transplant clinics in the US and a UK based skin regeneration research firm Intercytex. However, Intercytex got in serious financial difficulties due to its poor financial performance in 2008, the global economic crisis and a failure of its leading product Cyzact so that it was put up for sale. As expected, Bosley got involved through its subsidiary Aderans Research Institute and took over the Intercytex’s research unit involved in hair regeneration so that now Bosley now has got two units involved in research into hair cloning and both of them are in the Phase II. clinical testing. Bosley has thus become the world leader in hair regeneration research.

Just like in men, hereditary hair loss also known as female pattern baldness is the main cause of hair loss in women. The second most common type of female hair loss is alopecia areata. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease but its exact cause is not exactly known and, therefore, it can be very difficult to treat. Hereditary hair loss in women has the same cause as the male form of pattern baldness, which is the metabolite of the male hormone testosterone, called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) attacking and eventually killing the hair follicles. Female bodies also produce testosterone and this situation usually gets worse after menopause. Hair follicles in about 25% of women are susceptible to such attacks so that they start losing their hair at some point in time. The major specific feature of female hair loss is its diffuse balding pattern, which makes it more difficult to diagnose at the early stage and makes hair transplantation for most women impossible. Therefore, for women it is important to get some treatment working early enough before their hair becomes too thin.

The best known female hair loss treatment that can be used for both – alopecia areata and hereditary badness is minoxidil also known as Rogain. Women are supposed to use only 2% minoxidil solution in order to avoid unwanted facial hair growth but also because 2% solution is usually ethanol-based and does not leave their hair greasy. 5% solution is typically propylene glycol or propanol-based. These solvents are greasy, take much longer to dry and make the hair more difficult to style. However, some doctors do recommend 5% minoxidil to women, mainly in the form of Rogaine foam. It has been proven numerous times that 5% minoxidil is significantly more effective in regrowing hair than 2% solution. The second medically proven treatment for female hair loss is Aldactone (spironolactone). This diuretic is used to treat many different conditions in men and women but some of its applications are only suitable for women – such as its use against acne and facial body hair or against hair loss. Aldactone is a pill that is taken orally and unfortunately it is not without negative side effects. Nevertheless, this is the female "Propecia", the most effective treatment for hereditary hair loss in women. It is not known, though, that Aldactone would be also useful against alopecia areata.

Propecia as many experts say is the only treatment for male pattern baldness that helps the hair loss patients keep and in some instances even regrow their hair. There obviously are many other remedies but this one has been approved by the FDA after it has shown its great effectiveness. The major weakness of this medication, however, are its side effects. They include testicular discomfort, poor erections, lower libido, weight gain and gynecomastia (breast enlargement). However, statistically only about 1.5% of patients will be confronted with these difficulties. Despite that you will find plenty of negative Propecia consumer reviews whereas positive reviews are very rare. This probably is in the nature of the most people that they seldom express satisfaction as they take it for granted but tend to complain if things do not go as expected.

The existence of overwhelming majority of negative user reports leads many hair loss sufferers either to avoiding Propecia and towards herbal treatments or to experimenting with different other dosages and delivery forms of Propecia. Some patients take only 0.25mg or 0.5mg of Propecia a day instead of the recommended 1mg dose in order to minimize the risk of negative side effects. It is said that half the daily recommended dose (0.5mg) has got 80% efficacy of 1mg dose. Some, instead, are experimenting with different delivery forms such as topical lotions or creams. Although it is often said that such forms are not effective and can even increase the chances of negative side effects one recent study has shown that the therapeutic effects of both finasteride gel and finasteride pill were relatively similar to each other (finasteride is the main active substance of Propecia). However, further, longer lasting studies on a larger scale and with different delivery topical forms would be needed to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of finasteride gel (topical Propecia).

There are several types of treatments for hair loss such as hair regeneration, employing the use of medicinal as well as alternative and herbal pills and lotions, non-chemical hair loss treatment, applying laser light, e.g. in the form of HairMax laser comb and surgical, such as hair transplantation. However, all of them require a certain commitment that can be at times uncomfortable. The only hair loss therapy that does not sound uncomfortable to the patient is the hair loss shampoo. Hair loss shampoos often contain the very same ingredients as some herbal or natural-based hair loss treatments but they are only applied to your hair for about five minutes while you wash your hair. You wash them down afterwards so they do not make your hair sticky or bad smelling as many topical treatments do. Although it may sound that a miracle would have to happen should they grow you new hair, some of them really seem to thicken your hair and they do their work almost instantly. This is because they contain proteins and some other substances that can thicken your hair and make it feel softer, retaining water inside your hair shaft. This does the trick and makes many people believe in miracles. It is obvious that such shampoos are much pricier than a regular shampoo, but wouldn’t you pay a little bit more for a product that washes your hair and grows you new hair instantly?

Propecia is undoubtedly the No. 1 pill for treating male pattern baldness. It has been approved by the health supervisory authorities in many countries of the world, usually as the only pill for treating male form of hair loss. This pill contains the only active substance, finasteride, which has been known for several years before its hair growth promoting properties were accidentally discovered. Other medication that uses finasteride as its main active substance is Proscar. The main difference between the two is in the quantity of the active ingredient – finasteride – which is 5mg per pill in Proscar versus 1mg in Propecia.

Finasteride is an anti-androgen medication, which has been originally developed for treating enlarged prostates also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). For this purpose 5mg of finasteride daily are taken, therefore, Proscar contains 5mg. Proscar can also be applied to treat prostate cancer, whereas up to 25mg of finasteride per day can be prescribed. It was mainly the treatment of prostate cancer that led to the discovery of finasteride’s positive effects on hair growth, which have not remained unnoticed. The originator of Proscar, the US pharmaceutical firm Merck managed to secure FDA approval and patent also for its new version of finasteride – Propecia – in 1997. It remains to be mentioned that Proscar was approved by the FDA already in 1992.

However, finasteride already came off patent in many countries of the world and it is, therefore, possible to buy generic Propecia or Proscar at a price, which is a fraction of the price of the branded pill. This is because generic pharmaceutical manufacturers are now allowed to produce and market their less expensive generic copies of Proscar and Propecia freely to almost any country in the world. Most of such products come from India, which is home to some of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the world. Their products are extremely cheap compared to original branded formulation but since they contain the same active substance as the original product their therapeutic properties are equal. Most generic pharmaceutical manufacturers, including the Indian producers, have their facilities GMP compliant and approved by their national health authorities.