Month: July 2014

Merck states that “Contact with the semen from a man being treated with PROPECIA is not a risk to the unborn child of a pregnant woman“. My question is: can the same rule be applied to those taking DUTASTERIDE, considering this is a higher potent DHT inhibitor? I take 0.5mg daily for the treatment of hair loss.

Probably not, but we don’t know. Dutasteride can also have fertility issues in the men who take this drug, but the proof is not available at this time. This is probably one of the many reasons that dutasteride is not approved for the treatment of hair loss by the FDA.

Can You Use Leg or Body Hair for Eyebrow Transplants? I understand that if you use head hair for eyebrow transplants, the hair will keep growing longer than the other hairs on the eyebrow and I don’t like cutting my eyebrows.

Leg hair has a different hair cycle than head hair. Some body hair has 70% of its life cycle in telogen (sleep) and does not appear on the recipient area transplanted therefore but 30% of the time. So a successful eyebrow transplant with body hair, will keep to its growth cycle. It will disappoint the recipient as only about 70% of the hair will grow at any one time, even if it was successfully transplanted. There is no way to stop head hair moved into the eyebrow from growing. I generally joke to my patients that they can grow a pony tail from an eyebrow transplant. So basically, you will have to cut these hairs twice a week or so, and when you cut them, they must be cut on an angle making the tip look sharp.

The Scientific American reported a fix for hair loss in August 1914. Let me share it with you. “A gold wire 1/500 inch in diameter is bent to form a loop barely visible to the naked eye, which is then threaded with a woman hair of the desired color and from 8 to 12 inches long. The wire is introduced into a Pravaz hypodermic needle and then bent and cut, forming a tiny hook. The needle is inserted normally, twisted and carefully withdrawn. The doubled hair is anchored by the hook in the subcutaneous tissue. As many as 50,000 hairs may be required. ”

Source: Scientific America

That amounts to 15 grains of gold. Someone made money out of this.

Hi Dr – Firstly just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful work you are doing on this site!

I took Propecia 1mg for 8 years, but a couple of years ago I noticed I was losing ground (NW1 – NW3). I increased my Propecia dosage to 2mg and have been taking this for the past 2 years and experienced no side effects.

I am 34 years old now and thinking of starting a family. My question is: Is it safe to be on 2mg Propecia a day and trying for a baby? If I completely stopped Propecia now, how long will it take for the drug to be completely out of my system? I really worry that, so much Finasteride will pose a risk to my unborn child? I will be discussing this with my doctor, but you are a specialist in this field and would really appreciate some advice.

First and foremost, please follow up with your doctor and address your question to him/her.

I have some issues with your history and you need to follow your doctors recommendation. If you are a Norwood 1 or even 3, I question if you should have been on Propecia. Propecia does not work to prevent a mature hairline from forming. Propecia is meant for the frontal area, the top and the crown areas. It is sometimes taken in hopes that it will help with the frontal corners but that decision is up to you and your doctor. At least you didn’t have any side effects and you seem to have done well. Another issue is that higher dose of Propecia doesn’t really work any better than the 1mg dose.

Finally, Propecia does not affect conceiving or having a baby. There is no evidence of this. For those who are still worried about it, Propecia has a half life of about 4 hours in the blood stream. This means almost all the medication will be out of your blood stream in 1 day. With respect to tissue fixation and possible traces left in your body it can take between 1 to 2 weeks. Considering the thousands of men who may have fathered children while on the drug, to my knowledge there has been no medical issues or legal issues.

Hi Dr’s Rassman and Pak, I came across this new hair loss cure. Have you seen this and do you think it is genuine?

http://www.significanceofhair.com/nz2OkLfSa/m/

If you read my blog, you know my answer is buyer beware. The website you point to is linked to a sales website. It is operated out of Panama and hosted in Amsterdam.

I highly doubt the article give the viewer a genuine interview. Dr. “A Chan” probably does not exist either. If she does, she probably didn’t give that interview. Thus the initials on the name to give plausible deniability. I’m sure they’ll make their quick buck and disappear into the sea of similar products or possibly re-branded the product under a different name once this sales cycle burns out. If I am wrong, then I would like to see the actual clinical study or have Dr. Chan give me a call and refer to me the “patent” who was the focus of the ‘cure’.

I just heard that people who use minoxidil lotion for hair loss, should stop taking aspirin. Is it true?

Drug.com reports “There were no interactions found in our database between Aspirin Low Strength and minoxidil. However, this does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. ALWAYS consult with your doctor or pharmacist.”. I could not find the reference that says these two drugs have an interaction.

If you want the biochemical reasoning, Aspirin works by inactivating an enzyme called cyclooxygenase (COX) which ultimately suppress the production of prostaglandins and thromboxanes. This is a good thing if you want to treat pain, decrease inflammation, decrease the risk of heart disease, etc. Aspirin is a great medication.

It isn’t quite clear on the exact mechanism of action but minoxidil but it is thought to work by stimulating one of the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme which increase the production of a certain prostaglandins type “E2″ (PGE2). There is some evidence that hair loss is thought to be related to the decrease in PGE2 so increasing PGE2 with Rogaine makes sense.

In the end, you need to speak to your doctor. If you are taking Aspirin for medical health reasons, it is far more important to continue taking Aspirin over an elective medication such as Rogaine.

Of note minoxidil is also available as an oral medication to decrease blood pressure. Many men and women from outside the US (third world) take it to lower their blood pressure. I am curious if there will be studies that show how Aspirin affects the efficacy of minoxidil.

I realize this subject has been asked about before, but the specific answer I need hasn’t been given. I live in a hot country and it is almost always above 30 degrees Celsius! Walking to the car park after buying Propecia at the mall will expose it to high temperatures for a few minutes at least (if you have a car)!
Is it reasonably safe for short periods of time (minutes, not hours)? If not, how would these pills, or any medication which needs a correct temperature, ever work well in hot countries, where there is usually a good chance they will be exposed to high temperatures for short periods point?

I believe the manufacturer recommend that you store it below 86 degrees F (30 degrees C). But brief or short exposure to higher temperature should be fine. This applies to most drugs in general.

Sorry for the long-ish post, but I’m hoping you’ll answer my question.

I’m male, and nearly 35 now. I suffered hair loss in a concentrated period of ~6 months when I was 19; my hairline receded a bit at the temples and I experienced diffuse thinning in the frontal region and crown. Now, 15 years later, I’d say my hair still looks more-or-less like it did after that initial hair loss. I’ve never used any medication known to stop/reverse hair loss.

Even though it’s probably not noticeable when I wear my hair fairly short, the decreased density on the front of the head and crown does bother me a bit, and I’m wondering if I can do something about it.

One thing is that I’m not interested in using anything that is liable to mess with my hormone levels – for several years now I’ve suffered with secondary hypogonadism (low testosterone/high estrogen, etc. – confirmed by lab tests and symptoms) and only since ~4 months ago have I started receiving what I hope is the right treatment for it.

You might point out that higher testosterone might accelerate MBP -but so far I haven’t noticed any problems. For what it’s worth, I had my DHT assessed at a lab 1 1/2 month ago, it was a fairly high value(724 pg/mL, reference range 250-990) but I don’t think I’ve experienced any abnormal hair loss ever since starting my low-T treatment. Plus, aggressive MBP doesn’t appear to run in either side of my family.

So, is rogaine worth a shot for me for regaining hair density? Or something else you might recommend?

Would appreciate your advice!

I can’t really help you here. If hair loss or thinning bothers you go see a doctor. Since it is not noticeable (according to your own statement), I don’t know how much that can be done. You also write about not wanting to try any medication so I am not really clear as to what you expect in terms of your goals.

As a hair restoration doctor I am limited to four things I can recommend in general:
(1) Do nothing
(2) Hair transplant
(3) Propecia or Rogaine
(4) Scalp Micropigmentation

Maybe you can visit my website scalpmicropigment.com and see if that may work for you.

But ultimately without a face to face exam, I can’t help you. A blog is not a place (or Internet in general) for personalized medical treatment options.

At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2014, it was reported that use of computer activities and exercise reduces cognitive decline associated with Dmentia and Alzheimer’s Disease. At the Mayo Clinic, 1830 people at risk for Cognitive Decline were were studied in different groups, with a control group and a group that participated in a variety of exercise routines from mild to advanced. The patients were studied for 2.3 years.

“Any level of physical activity in midlife may help keep cognitive decline and dementia in late life at bay, new research suggests.”

The range of exercises include: “mild exercise was defined as leisurely walking. Moderate exercise included engaging in activities such as brisk walking, cycling, and swimming, and vigorous exercise included participating in activities such as mountain biking and downhill skiing.”

There is definitely protective effects from exercise, even as simple as taking your dog on a brisk walk. “The investigators found that only moderate midlife physical exercise was significantly associated with a decreased risk for incident dementia”.

I summarize these important reports, because we all have parents and family that need to avoid the inactive lifestyle and we have a responsibility to them to see that they stay healthy and mentally active so we can enjoy their senior years with them.

Was wandering if there would be any side effects of taking Propecia with the condition seborrheic dermatitis?

Seborrheic dermatitis is a skin condition that cause flaky skin/ scalp. It has nothing to do with genetic hair loss.
Propecia is a drug for the treatment of androgenic alopecia. It has nothing to do with a skin condition such as seborrheic dermatitis. Many patients with seborrheic dermatitis take Propecia without issues.