Minoxidil: Effectiveness and Prospects for Use in the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia

The document discusses the effectiveness of Minoxidil, a vasodilator with anti-inflammatory and anti-androgen properties, in treating androgenetic alopecia (AGA), a common hair loss condition. Minoxidil acts on several AGA pathogenesis pathways, prolonging the anagen phase and shortening the telogen phase, enhancing DNA synthesis, and stimulating proliferative processes. It is used both topically and systemically, and can be combined with other treatments like finasteride, spironolactone, topical tretinoin, platelet-rich plasma, low-intensity laser therapy, and microneedling. Oral Minoxidil has shown equivalent effectiveness in women compared to a 5% topical solution. A study involving patients taking a 5 mg/day dose of oral Minoxidil showed 100% improvement at 12 and 24 weeks, with 43% of patients achieving significant improvement. However, side effects were found in approximately 30% of participants in a study involving 41 men diagnosed with AGA taking oral Minoxidil doses of 2.5 and 5 mg/day. A recent study involving 1404 people found hypertrichosis in approximately 15% of patients, with systemic side effects noted in 1.7% of patients. Minoxidil is contraindicated in pregnant and breastfeeding women. The document concludes that topical Minoxidil is a proven effective and safe treatment for AGA, and further research is needed to make informed decisions about the optimal treatment for AGA.