Treatment of Female Pattern Hair Loss

September 2012 in “ PubMed ”

Masoumeh Hassani, Farzam Gorouhi, Shahab Babakoohi, Siamak Moghadam-Kia, Alireza Firooz

female pattern hair loss topical minoxidil minoxidil oral flutamide flutamide finasteride cyproterone acetate hyperandrogenism androgens FPHL Rogaine Propecia

TLDR Topical minoxidil effectively treats Female Pattern Hair Loss in women of all ages and hormone levels, but evidence for antiandrogens is limited.

The systematic review from 2012 examined 12 randomized controlled trials on nonsurgical interventions for the treatment of Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL). The study found that topical minoxidil, in concentrations from 1% to 5%, was effective in treating FPHL over a period of 24 to 48 weeks. The effectiveness of minoxidil was not influenced by the age or androgen level of the patients and was effective in women with FPHL, both with and without hyperandrogenism, and in young and old premenopausal or postmenopausal women. In patients with increased serum androgens, oral flutamide was more effective than no treatment, but finasteride or cyproterone acetate were not. The study concluded that topical minoxidil is effective in patients with FPHL, with or without hyperandrogenism, but there is limited evidence for the efficacy of antiandrogens.

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