Therapeutic strategies for treating hair loss
March 2006
in “Drug Discovery Today: Therapeutic Strategies”
TLDR The conclusion is that we need more effective hair loss treatments than the current ones, and these could include new drugs, gene and stem cell therapy, hormones, and scalp cooling, but they all need thorough safety testing.
The 2006 paper "Therapeutic strategies for treating hair loss" by Ralf Paus discussed the limitations of the two FDA-approved hair loss treatments at the time, finasteride and minoxidil, and called for more effective treatments. The author suggested that the most effective strategies would inhibit catagen, induce anagen, and inhibit exogen phases of the hair follicle cycle. The paper also highlighted hair follicle miniaturization as a key target for anti-hair loss drugs. The author suggested that newer-generation potassium channel openers, 5-a-reductase inhibitors, steroidal antiandrogens, and topically applicable antiandrogen prodrugs might be more effective, but emphasized the need for rigorous safety testing. The paper also discussed the potential of gene and stem cell therapy, prostaglandins, hormones, topical applications like minoxidil, compounds like procyanidin B-2, and scalp cooling in treating hair loss. The author concluded by emphasizing the need for rigorous testing of these potential treatments.
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