Faculty Opinions Recommendation of Promising Therapies for Treating and Preventing Androgenic Alopecia
December 2012
in “
Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature
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androgenetic alopecia minoxidil finasteride surgical hair transplantation dutasteride latanoprost ketoconazole shampoo anti-androgens cyproterone acetate spironolactone laser/light treatment lower-level laser therapy cell-mediated treatments platelet-rich plasma epithelium collagen fibers fibroblasts follicles AGA Rogaine Propecia hair transplant Avodart Xalatan Nizoral PRP
TLDR There are several promising treatments for hair loss, including dutasteride, latanoprost, ketoconazole shampoo, anti-androgens, laser/light treatment, and platelet-rich plasma, but more research is needed.
In 2012, McElwee and Shapiro reviewed current and potential future therapies for androgenetic alopecia (AGA), a condition that may affect up to 70% of men and 40% of women. At the time, minoxidil, finasteride, and surgical hair transplantation were the standard treatments. However, they noted promising results from other treatments. Dutasteride 2.5mg/day was found to be more effective than finasteride 5mg/day in one study. Latanoprost increased hair density and may encourage pigmentation. Ketoconazole shampoo could be used alongside other treatments. Anti-androgens, cyproterone acetate and spironolactone, showed benefits, with 88% of women seeing no progression or improvement in their hair loss. Laser/light treatment was gaining popularity as a preventative measure. A lower-level laser therapy device was found to be effective, well-tolerated, and safe for treating AGA in males. Cell-mediated treatments were in phase I or II trials. Platelet-rich plasma led to a thickened epithelium, increased collagen fibers and fibroblasts, and increased vessels around follicles. However, they concluded that more research was needed as clinical data supporting these new therapies was limited.
