The Modern Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia

The document from August 2017, authored by V. K. Karnaukhov, A. A. Lukyanova, M. I. Lukashina, E. S. Vorobeva, and I. M. Afanasov, discussed androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the most common cause of hair loss, affecting up to 80% of men and 42% of women in the Caucasian population. The standard treatments at the time were minoxidil and/or finasteride, but these had moderate efficacy and could cause significant side effects. Finasteride was ineffective for women, leaving minoxidil as the only option. The review also discussed the molecular mechanisms of AGA and the limitations of current treatments. It explored potential new treatments that could be more effective and safer than minoxidil and finasteride, including growth factors and cytokines, topical 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, androgen receptor antagonists, prostaglandin analogs and antagonists, Wnt signaling activators, and platelet-rich plasma injections.