Low-dose daily aspirin reduces topical minoxidil efficacy in androgenetic alopecia patients

A study was conducted to determine whether low dose daily aspirin affects the efficacy of topical minoxidil in treating androgenetic alopecia (AGA). The study involved 24 male subjects with AGA who had not used topical minoxidil, oral minoxidil, or aspirin in the past 6 months. The results showed that after 14 days of aspirin administration, only 27% of the subjects were predicted to respond to topical minoxidil, compared to the initial prediction of 50%. The study suggests that low dose oral aspirin negatively inhibits the activity of sulfotransferase enzymes in the human hair outer root sheath, which limits the efficacy of topical minoxidil treatment. Clinicians should take into account a patient's aspirin regimen prior to initiating minoxidil therapy for AGA.