Efficacy of Topical Minoxidil and Oral Spironolactone Versus Minoxidil and Finasteride in Androgenic Alopecia

August 2023 in “ Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology ”

Afsaneh Sadeghzadeh-Bazargan, Zohreh Tavana, Abbas Dehghani, Alireza Jafarzadeh, Anahita Tabavar, Ehsan Alavi Rad, Azadeh Goodarzi

topical minoxidil oral spironolactone oral finasteride androgenic alopecia female pattern hair loss male pattern hair loss hair density hair loss Rogaine Aldactone Propecia AGA FPHL MPHL

TLDR Both minoxidil-spironolactone and minoxidil-finasteride treatments work for hair loss, but minoxidil-spironolactone is slightly more effective, especially in women.

The research compared two treatments for androgenic alopecia (AGA) in 60 female patients: a combination of topical minoxidil and oral spironolactone, and topical minoxidil and oral finasteride. After 4 months, both treatments were effective in reducing hair loss and improving hair density, but the minoxidil-spironolactone group showed slightly better results, with 50% of patients showing improved hair density compared to 36.7% in the minoxidil-finasteride group. The minoxidil-spironolactone treatment also showed better performance in improving hair density and hair loss in female pattern hair loss (FPHL), but the treatment effect was the same in male pattern hair loss (MPHL) between the two interventions. The study concluded that both treatments are effective for AGA, but minoxidil-spironolactone could be considered as a more effective treatment.

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