Low-Dose Oral Minoxidil as Treatment for Non-Scarring Alopecia: A Systematic Review

    June 2020 in “ International Journal of Dermatology ”
    Ajay K. Sharma, Lauren Michelle, Margit Juhasz, Paulo Müller Ramos, Natasha Atanaskova Mesinkovska
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    TLDR Low-dose oral minoxidil effectively treats non-scarring hair loss with some side effects like hypertrichosis and postural hypotension.
    In 2020, a systematic review of 10 articles involving 19,218 patients (215 women and 19,003 men) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of low-dose oral minoxidil as a treatment for non-scarring alopecia. The dosage ranged from 0.25 to 5 mg daily to twice daily. The treatment showed significant clinical improvement in 61-100% of patients with androgenetic alopecia and 18-82.4% of patients with alopecia areata. It was also successful in treating female pattern hair loss, chronic telogen effluvium, monilethrix, and permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia. The most common side effects were hypertrichosis and postural hypotension. The review concluded that oral minoxidil is a safe and effective treatment for non-scarring alopecia, with better patient compliance compared to topical minoxidil. Further studies were recommended to determine its therapeutic effect in various types of alopecia.
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