Objective Assessment of Treatment Response in Hirsutism

In 1985, researchers used a photographic method to objectively measure the response of hirsute women to treatment with cyproterone acetate (CA). They shaved a section of skin, took photographs immediately and after one week, and estimated hair growth by measuring the length of 20 hairs. The study included 34 women and found that the average basal hair growth rate was 2.28 +/- 0.4 mm/week, which correlated with physician-rated hirsutism scores. After CA treatment, hair growth rate improved by 19 +/- 13%, while physician-rated scores improved by 33 +/- 20%. However, there was no significant correlation between the reduction in hair growth rate and the subjective improvements rated by physicians or patients. This suggests that factors other than hair length, such as hair shaft width and color, may be important in assessing treatment response.