January 2025 in “Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery” This study discusses the limitations of current FDA-approved treatments for androgenic alopecia, noting significant sexual side effects with oral finasteride and formulation challenges with topical minoxidil, and highlights the potential of nanocarriers to improve drug delivery to hair follicles.
November 2024 in “Pharmaceutics” This study found that dutasteride-loaded transfersomes, compared to traditional liposomes, better target hair follicles by releasing the drug in a more controlled manner, as shown in vitro with enhanced follicular targeting (Tf = 0.32 versus 0.15, p < 0.005) using porcine ear skin.
3 citations
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November 2024 in “International Journal of Pharmaceutics” Larger positively charged gelatin nanoparticles are more effective for delivering treatments to hair follicles.
August 2024 in “International Journal of Biological Macromolecules” This study reported that newly developed minoxidil Pickering emulsion gels, designed using cellulose stabilizers, showed promising results for promoting hair regrowth and targeting hair follicles by enhancing the delivery and stabilization properties of the formulation in a hair loss treatment context.
February 2024 in “International Journal of Pharmaceutics” This study found that combining the natural product cedrol with minoxidil can improve the treatment of androgenetic alopecia by reducing the minoxidil dose needed, while a new nanocarrier system enhances drug delivery and effectiveness at hair follicles.
October 2022 in “Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology” This study demonstrated that in a mouse model of androgenic alopecia, PLGA-DUT/siAR@DPCM nanoparticles effectively delivered drugs to hair follicles, suppressed androgen-related targets, promoted cell proliferation, and showed significant therapeutic effects with minimal adverse effects, suggesting their potential for clinical application.
3 citations
,
January 2022 in “Pharmaceutics” This review examines new formulations for delivering 5-α-reductase inhibitors to improve targeted drug delivery in androgenetic alopecia, but reports no new clinical results.
17 citations
,
November 2021 in “Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology” This review discusses treatment options for androgenetic alopecia, highlighting the need for personalized, evidence-based approaches but reports no new clinical results.
12 citations
,
July 2020 in “International Journal of Pharmaceutics” This study found that finasteride- and dutasteride-loaded iron oxide nanoparticles improved drug penetration in the skin, suggesting they may be promising for topical alopecia therapies.
26 citations
,
February 2020 in “International Journal of Biological Macromolecules” This study demonstrates that massage significantly enhances the follicular targeting of dutasteride-loaded nanocapsules, increasing drug accumulation in hair follicles by up to 5 times.
6 citations
,
January 2020 in “Dermatology” This study suggests that men under 40 who develop persistent sexual side effects and insomnia after using finasteride for alopecia may be at increased risk of suicide.
24 citations
,
October 2019 in “Biomaterials Research” This study investigated the use of Minoxidil encapsulated in HA-PLGA nanoparticles for alopecia treatment and found that these nanoparticles efficiently delivered the drug to hair follicle cells without significant cytotoxicity, offering a potential transdermal delivery method for various diseases.
14 citations
,
August 2019 in “Journal of Dermatological Treatment” This study found that 5% topical minoxidil was moderately more effective at increasing hair regrowth than 10% minoxidil and placebo in men with androgenetic alopecia.
45 citations
,
August 2019 in “Dermatologic Therapy” This review discusses the physiopathology of androgenetic alopecia and evaluates various traditional and emerging treatments, reporting no new clinical results but highlighting the need for enhanced treatment strategies.
38 citations
,
February 2019 in “Clinical Interventions in Aging” This meta-analysis found that dutasteride was more effective than finasteride in increasing hair count and improving photographic assessments for men with androgenetic alopecia, while both drugs had similar rates of sexual dysfunction-related adverse effects.
6 citations
,
July 2018 in “PubMed” In this study, a combination therapy involving oral finasteride, oral and topical minoxidil, and injectable treatments led to significant improvements in hair growth for Asian men with androgenetic alopecia, with high patient satisfaction and minimal complications over a period of 6 to 12 months.
January 2018 in “Our Dermatology Online” This review summarizes the use of injectable dutasteride mesotherapy for androgenic alopecia and reports improved hair growth when combined with other substances, but highlights the need for further studies to establish long-term protocols.
35 citations
,
September 2017 in “PubMed” This article reviews different types of alopecia, their diagnosis, and treatment options available in a family physician's practice, but it reports no new research findings.
153 citations
,
March 2017 in “Endocrine” This review examines recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology and molecular mechanisms of androgenetic alopecia, highlighting two major genetic risk loci, but does not report new clinical findings.
27 citations
,
March 2017 in “Current Clinical Pharmacology” In this review, the authors discuss the pharmacology of dutasteride and compare its efficacy to finasteride for treating androgenetic alopecia, highlighting dutasteride's effectiveness demonstrated in several clinical trials.
15 citations
,
January 2017 in “JAMA Dermatology” This study found that topical minoxidil improved female pattern hair loss, finasteride was not more effective than placebo, and laser devices showed inconsistent results but increased hair count compared to baseline.
32 citations
,
July 2016 in “PubMed” This review discusses the adverse events associated with 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, finding them generally well-tolerated but noting potential risks like sexual side effects and psychological effects in men, and sparse data on use in women.
32 citations
,
April 2016 in “Aaps Pharmscitech” This study found that nanostructured lipid carriers enhanced the skin penetration and retention of minoxidil compared to solid lipid nanoparticles, suggesting they could be a promising method for topical delivery.
31 citations
,
February 2016 in “American Journal of Men's Health” This study found that nearly half of men using finasteride reported clinically significant depression, highlighting the need for psychiatric screening and careful risk assessment by prescribing clinicians.
43 citations
,
January 2016 in “International Journal of Andrology” This study found that men experiencing long-term symptoms after finasteride use for androgenetic alopecia frequently reported loss of penis sensitivity and anhedonia, among other effects, indicating potential post-finasteride syndrome.
69 citations
,
July 2015 in “Pharmacotherapy” This study found that low-dose finasteride use in young men was associated with higher reporting of persistent sexual dysfunction, with some cases linked to suicidal ideation.
112 citations
,
July 2012 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” In this study, 96% of men with persistent sexual side effects from finasteride reported continued dysfunction after discontinuation, suggesting these effects may endure long-term.
218 citations
,
December 2011 in “Advances in Urology” This review discusses the biochemical properties and clinical significance of 5 alpha-reductase isozymes and reports no new clinical results.
185 citations
,
March 2011 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” This study found that 94% of healthy men reported low libido and 92% reported erectile dysfunction as persistent sexual side effects after using finasteride for male pattern hair loss, with these effects lasting on average 40 months post-discontinuation.
263 citations
,
February 2011 in “Journal of Controlled Release” This study found that medium-sized particles (643 and 646 nm) penetrated deeper into porcine hair follicles in vitro than smaller or larger particles, suggesting size-selective targeting within follicular sites.
119 citations
,
December 2008 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” In this study, transcutaneously applied nanoparticles and viral vectors were shown to penetrate murine hair follicles, internalize in antigen-presenting cells, and induce immune responses, suggesting a promising approach for vaccine delivery.
45 citations
,
January 2008 in “Drugs” This study found that dutasteride effectively improved urinary symptoms, reduced acute urinary retention risk, and decreased prostate volume in men with moderate to severe BPH over two years.
323 citations
,
April 2006 in “The journal of investigative dermatology/Journal of investigative dermatology” This study found that 40 nm nanoparticles can effectively penetrate into hair follicles and epidermal Langerhans cells in human skin samples, potentially enabling efficient transcutaneous vaccine delivery.
408 citations
,
May 2004 in “The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism/Journal of clinical endocrinology & metabolism” This study found that dutasteride more effectively reduced serum dihydrotestosterone levels than finasteride in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.
229 citations
,
August 2002 in “Experimental Gerontology” This paper discusses key mechanisms of androgen metabolism in androgenetic alopecia and reports the effectiveness of treatments like oral finasteride and topical minoxidil, highlighting the limited success rate due to factors like follicular inflammation.
41 citations
,
May 2001 in “PubMed” This study proposes a new clinical scoring method for hair density based on hair diameter diversity, which correlates with existing measures and reflects follicle miniaturization in androgenetic alopecia.
100 citations
,
September 1999 in “British Journal of Dermatology” This study suggests that finasteride's effect on promoting hair growth in men with androgenetic alopecia may be due to its inhibition of 5aR2 localized in hair follicles.
67 citations
,
March 1987 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” This study found that both 2% and 3% minoxidil resulted in a significant increase in hair counts for participants with androgenetic alopecia over 12 months.
