October 2025 in “Nature Reviews Disease Primers” 
October 2025 in “Advanced Healthcare Materials” This study found that using a stevioside-based microneedle patch significantly increased minoxidil's solubility and skin absorption, promoting hair growth in animal models and achieving 67.5% area coverage by day 35, highlighting the potential of this novel delivery system for androgenetic alopecia treatment.
77 citations
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August 2025 in “Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy” This review highlights the potential of extracellular vesicle-based therapies for treating various diseases, but it also notes challenges like the lack of regulatory guidelines that hinder their clinical development.
This study found that a machine-learning-driven strategy helped develop microneedles with high hardness and rapid dissolution, effectively promoting hair regrowth in androgenetic alopecia mice by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, surpassing minoxidil's effects without biosafety risks.
August 2025 in “Drug Design Development and Therapy” This review article examines current drugs for androgenetic alopecia, focusing on their mechanisms and clinical efficacy, noting that while finasteride and minoxidil are commonly approved treatments, new drugs targeting different pathogenic pathways have emerged, offering a broader understanding and reference for AGA treatment options.
March 2025 in “Journal of Controlled Release” This study found that a biocomposite microneedle system, which includes selenium nanozyme and hypoxic extracellular vesicles, enhanced hair density and follicle diameter in androgenetic alopecia mice by fighting inflammation, promoting blood vessel growth, reducing reactive oxygen species, and counteracting androgen effects.
February 2025 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” DMG-Na may help reduce hair loss and improve hair growth, but more research is needed.
January 2025 in “Journal of Controlled Release” This study developed a gas-propelled microneedle patch with puerarin/quercetin nanoparticles, which demonstrated improved hair-regenerating effects in an androgenetic alopecia mouse model by increasing drug delivery, alleviating oxidative stress, promoting angiogenesis, and rejuvenating senescent cells.
4 citations
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January 2025 in “The Journal of Cell Biology” This study found that deleting ceramide synthase 4 in skin epidermis stem cells disrupts hair follicle and skin barrier function, leading to immune responses similar to atopic dermatitis, due to imbalances in lipid composition affecting differentiation.
October 2024 in “Current Issues in Molecular Biology” In this experimental study, the researchers observed that Platycladus orientalis leaf extract promoted hair growth by enhancing dermal papilla cell proliferation and increasing growth factor expression, particularly through ACK1 activation and modulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways in cultured human cells and a 12-week topical application.
July 2024 in “Chemical Engineering Journal” A new microneedle system with minoxidil nanoparticles effectively promotes hair regrowth with fewer side effects.
41 citations
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June 2024 in “Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine” This study reviews how oxidative stress affects hair follicle development and hair growth, discusses antioxidant-based treatments for hair loss, and evaluates natural antioxidant products that promote hair growth, emphasizing the need for further research due to existing limitations.
May 2024 in “Molecules/Molecules online/Molecules annual” This narrative review reports that well-selected plant extracts and their active compounds may improve hair health by promoting hair growth and preventing hair loss, potentially aiding in developing targeted therapies for alopecia.
May 2024 in “Chemical engineering journal” This study reports that a new minoxidil and epigallocatechin gallate co-loaded ionic liquids system showed superior efficacy in promoting hair regrowth in a mouse model of androgenic alopecia by activating hair follicle stem cells and improving microenvironment conditions, compared to existing minoxidil products.
April 2024 in “Bioactive materials” This study found that a microneedle system delivering VEGF and Ritlecitinib improved hair regeneration in mice with androgenetic alopecia, showing faster anagen onset and better hair quality compared to minoxidil.
2 citations
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April 2024 in “Advanced Materials” This study tested a hydrogel microneedle patch delivering T reg attractants in mice with alopecia, finding it boosted regulatory T cell numbers at the site, leading to hair regrowth without causing peripheral immunosuppression, suggesting a potential new approach for autoimmune skin disease treatment.
1 citations
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June 2023 in “Chemical engineering journal” In this laboratory study, a novel minoxidil-loaded microneedle patch demonstrated potential for treating alopecia areata by promoting slow drug release and reducing application frequency, while exhibiting antibacterial properties to prevent infection during use.
March 2023 in “ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces” This study reports that a water-soluble microneedle patch with minoxidil-loaded microspheres showed similar or better hair regeneration effects in mice with less frequent application compared to daily topical minoxidil.
1 citations
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December 2022 in “Journal of Controlled Release” This review summarizes recent research on microneedles for alopecia treatment and hair regrowth, noting their potential to improve drug delivery and patient outcomes, but reports no new clinical results.
This review discusses the role of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in hair follicle development and how natural products that activate this signaling could be used to treat hair loss, but it reports no new experimental results.
12 citations
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August 2022 in “Journal of Controlled Release” In this study, a microneedle patch containing conditioned media from hypoxia-pretreated stem cells enhanced hair regeneration in an androgenetic alopecia mouse model by boosting perifollicular vascularization and hair follicle stem cell activation compared to minoxidil.
61 citations
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June 2022 in “Journal of Controlled Release” This review discusses the advantages, applications, and current trends of dissolving microneedles for drug delivery across various therapeutic areas and reports no new clinical results.
9 citations
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June 2022 in “Plants” This study found that shallot extract may promote hair growth in androgenetic alopecia by reducing inflammation and modulating gene expression related to key hair growth pathways.
12 citations
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February 2022 in “Acta Biomaterialia” In this study, researchers found that dissolving microneedles made with hyaluronic acid enhanced the effectiveness of minoxidil in reducing hair loss and promoting hair growth in alopecia-affected mice more effectively than topical minoxidil alone, while using only 10% of the drug amount.
49 citations
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November 2021 in “Annual review of pathology” This review discusses the regulatory roles of lysophospholipids like LPA and S1P in diseases such as fibrosis, neuropathic pain, and cancer, but reports no new clinical results.
23 citations
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October 2021 in “Cell Stem Cell” This study found that hair shaft miniaturization in aging and genetic hypotrichosis leads to hair follicle stem cell loss through mechanical compression and apoptosis mediated by the Piezo1 channel.
1 citations
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September 2021 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” This study observed that inflammation in androgenetic alopecia samples was similar to alopecia areata controls, but infundibular and isthmic inflammation were significantly more common in androgenetic alopecia cases.
16 citations
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June 2021 in “Journal of Dermatological Treatment” This study reported that while topical minoxidil exhibits hair regrowth in androgenetic alopecia, oral minoxidil 5 mg/day was more effective than topical forms after six months, with low doses also potentially effective for women and other hair loss types.
13 citations
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March 2019 in “Journal of ethnopharmacology” This study found that Cacumen Platycladi volatile oil promotes dermal papilla cell proliferation and enhances hair growth in mice, outperforming minoxidil and showing no obvious cytotoxic effects.
6 citations
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August 2014 in “Spectroscopy Letters” This study reported that the calculated and experimental electronic and vibrational properties of minoxidil were in good agreement, providing detailed insights into its molecular structure and thermal behaviors.
