AAD: New
Treatment Options for Baldness Soon Available
SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 1997
Great strides have been made over the last few
years to help men and women who suffer from androgenetic alopecia or hereditary
hair thinning. Within the next year there will be at least two additional
treatments available. A stronger form of topical minoxidil for both men and
women will be available in a 5% solution. The second medication will be
finasteride 1 mg, taken as an oral tablet, which was developed to treat male
pattern baldness.
Speaking at the American Academy of Dermatology's 55th Annual Meeting in San
Francisco, Vera Price, MD, Professor of Dermatology, University of California,
San Francisco and Keith Kaufman, MD, Director of Clinical Research for Merck
Research Laboratories in New Jersey discussed these latest treatment options.
Dr. Price explained that hair thinning, which can be inherited from either the
mother's or father's side of the family, or both, is very familiar in the male.
The onset appears in the teens, twenties, or thirties for both men and women.
"However, in young women," Dr. Price said, "the diagnosis is
often missed and there is sometimes uncertainty how much hormonal evaluation in
young women has to be done." Androgenetic alopecia is due to the increased
formation of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the affected hair follicles. DHT is
the male hormone that interrupts the hair cycle and shortens the growth phase,
thereby resulting in the gradual miniaturization of the hair follicle. Women's
hair does not become as thin as that of men, and these women never become bald.
Dr. Price with her colleague Marty Sawaya, MD, have conducted studies, showing
for the first time, that women with androgenetic alopecia have higher levels of
5 alpha-reductase enzyme (the enzyme required to convert the male hormone
testosterone to DHT) in frontal hair follicles compared to occipital follicles.
There are, however, marked quantitative differences in the two enzymes, 5
alpha-reductase and aromatase, and also in the androgen receptor in men and
women, accounting for the milder expression of hereditary hair thinning in
women.
The good news is that the increased concentration of minoxidil, from a 2% to a
5% topical solution, expected to be available within the year, will help both
men and women.
For men, there is still another option for treating male pattern baldness --
finasteride 1 mg -- awaiting FDA approval. Dr. Kaufman reported, "Results
from two large, multicenter trials, involving over 1,500 men, showed that the
drug significantly increased hair growth in a majority of treated men ... we
were able to measure changes in hair counts and quantify cosmetic significance
to male patients."
Finasteride inhibits the action of the enzyme 5 alpha-reductase, thereby
inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to DHT. Dr. Kaufman said,
"Finasteride is a unique product because it inhibits a key underlying
process responsible for hair loss. The research presented today confirms our
initial theory about the etiology of hair loss and validates the treatment
approach of inhibiting 5 alpha-reductase." The American Academy of
Dermatology is the largest medical society representing physicians who
specialize in treating skin, hair, and nail conditions.
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