Retinal Artery Occlusion as a Probable Idiosyncratic Reaction to Topical Minoxidil: A Case Report

October 2021 in “ Journal of Medical Case Reports ”

Ramesh Venkatesh, Arpitha Pereira, Nikitha Gurram Reddy, Naresh Kumar Yadav

minoxidil androgenetic alopecia retinal artery occlusion topical minoxidil Rogaine

Studysummary This case report describes a possible association between topical 5% minoxidil use and inferior hemiretinal artery occlusion in a 21-year-old Asian Indian male with androgenic alopecia. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

The document presents two case reports of men (39 and 21 years old) who experienced sudden vision loss and retinal artery occlusion, a condition where the central retinal artery or one of its branches gets blocked, after using a 5% topical minoxidil solution for androgenetic alopecia. In both cases, despite medical intervention, the patients' vision did not fully recover. The authors suggest that the long-term use of minoxidil could be a probable cause, but a definite cause-outcome relationship is not established. They recommend caution and close monitoring when using this treatment for hair loss due to the potential, though rare, severe adverse effect.

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