Drugs – Page 259 – Balding Blog

July 16, 2007

How Much Stress Can Trigger Male Pattern Baldness? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I have a few questions:

On average, how much stress is necessary to trigger the balding process in men who have MPB? For instance, I was REALLY stressed out for 3 days about something (to the point where I thought I might have a heart attack). Is this the stress you’re talking about that can trigger MPB?

Is there a delay in the time between the stressful event and the hairloss? I read somewhere that there was a delay of 3 months.

If I’ve been taking Propecia for 8 months now, will that prevent the hair loss caused by the stress that occurred about 1 week ago?

Any insight would be appreciated thank you.

Different people react to stress differently. I once saw a man a day after a big heart attack and he was very nonchalant and didn’t appear to be stressed that he almost died a day earlier! I can assume that he handles stress much differently than you do. To answer your question more specifically, there is really no gauge of stress, but rather your perception of what “REALLY” constitutes your stress level.
By the ongoing theme in your questioning, I can speculate you are a very particular about this stress issue. You should also keep in mind that hair loss from MPB will occur with or without stress, as it is in your genetic programming. There is no definitive timeline of stress and the lag time of hair loss.
Again, I can see you are obsessed about a stressful event. You are taking Propecia for the treatment of male pattern balding –- and not stress-related balding. If emotional stress is an issue for you, you may consider seeing a doctor for your stress related issues, as this is really a medical/psychological problem.

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July 16, 2007

In the News – Antibiotic Could Prevent Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

“Toshiyuki Sakai said his team had found “alopestatin” reduced hair loss by 70 percent when used on rats also given etoposide anti-cancer drugs.” The focus here appears to be for those using chemotherapy, but who knows where it will take them as they explore this technology. The article goes on to say that there are no clinical tests currently underway.

Read the article — Antibiotic could prevent hair-loss

July 16, 2007

Is Minoxidil Affected By Temperatures? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi, I had a question concerning Rogaine. Can Rogaine become unaffective if it’s left in harsh temperatures. I travel a lot. I drive in hot cars, and take airplanes oversees, leaving my luggage in the luggage bay. Will harsh conditions ruin Rogaine? Thanks for your time. Thank you doctor. This blog is great!

There are warnings about storing minoxidil. It is suggested that you store at room temperature between 68 and 77 degrees F (between 20 and 25 degrees C) away from heat. Heat may cause it to lose value, so hot cars in direct sunlight can not be a positive for storing the medication.

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July 12, 2007

Scalp Testosterone Increase with Dutasteride – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

According to Phase II FDA trials of Dutasteride as a treatment for hair loss, inhibition of scalp DHT was superior to that of finasteride, but it also caused levels of scalp testosterone to skyrocket. To quote:

“Scalp Testosterone rose 24% for Finasteride, 46% for 0.05mg Dutasteride, 44% for 0.1mg Dutasteride, 104% for 0.5mg Dutasteride, and 154% for 2.5mg Dutasteride.”

What are the implications, if any, for this huge increase in scalp testosterone? Is testosterone injurious to hair in the same way that DHT is? Does it affect it in some other way?

The offending hormone is DHT, not testosterone. I do not know the implications, but from a practical level, dutasteride seems to work better by the experience of some doctors who have been using it for years. In reality, however, until the FDA study is complete, we really will not know (scientifically) for sure.

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July 10, 2007

Peer-Reviewed Studies on Dutasteride and MPB – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Dr. Rassman,

There are two well-designed, peer-reviewed studies demonstrating the efficacy of dutasteride in preventing male pattern baldness:

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1473-2165.2007.00297.x
http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/resources/Dutasteride-Finasteride.php

In addition, here is a peer-reviewed case study:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=…

I hope this convinces you of the efficacy of dutasteride in preventing male pattern baldness, even relative to finasteride.

Best Regards

The general consensus for dutasteride is that it grows hair. I do not believe other doctors will challenge this point too much. The real question is how much better it is when compared to finasteride. And more importantly is the safety profile of the drug and the issues of side effects when taken for an indefinite period of time. Dutasteride has a very long half life in the order of weeks versus finasteride which has a half life in the order of only hours.

July 10, 2007

DUPA and Propecia – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hello i have Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) and was wondering if propecia worked for me would it thinken the existing hair or would it have to shed and grow again as a new hair? and if possible could you tell me how long i’d have to wait to see if the propecia was working for me?

Propecia works by blocking DHT effects on scalp hair that is affected by male pattern hair loss (androgenic hair loss). Hair loss from DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia) is not related to male pattern hair loss and it may not be affected by DHT. Thus, Propecia may not work, but it is the only drug that can be used. That being said, some doctors (include me in this group) will prescribe Propecia to patients with DUPA in case there is an underlying androgenic component to hair loss. In some patients with DUPA, I have seen improvement with Propecia.

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July 9, 2007

Any Harm In Starting Propecia Early? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,

I’m 26 years old and have noticed, whether it’s due to high stress from school and my job, or from genetics, that my hairline has raised by a half-inch or one inch and that my temples have started thinning out in the past 9 months. I’m not sure if this is hair-loss or the development of a “mature hairline”. I’ve considered propecia and will get the miniaturization test done, but: assuming that one doesn’t suffer ill effects from propecia, in terms of my hair, are there any repercussions or detrimental effects to starting the medication early?

a lot of your messages suggest that it’s better to be safe than sorry; so if i am indeed losing hair slowly (albeit currently at a snail’s pace), other than loss of a few extra dollars, is there any harm in starting treatment on propecia ASAP to minimize the potential for long-term hair loss?

thank you for taking my question.

Stress can be a cause of hair loss, but the hair loss would likely occur diffusely (all over front, top, side, and back). Genetic hair loss for men (male pattern hair loss) will occur mostly on the front and top areas of the scalp – sparing the sides and back.

While Propecia is a safe medication to take, you need to have a good diagnosis to see if it will help your hair loss situation. In other words, Propecia would not help you if your hair loss is due to stress, unless you have a genetic predisposition to balding. I personally don’t like the use of Propecia without a diagnosis. Why commit a lifetime on medication if there is no balding present? Think about that!

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July 9, 2007

What is Regenix? – Balding Blog

What is Regenix and how is it used in conjunction with other products

To answer your questions I had to contact the company and get a list of the ingredients directly from them. Here is the list they emailed me:

Vitamins:
A, B, Series D, E, F, H1 and H2 P, Amino Benzoic Acid, Inositol, Calium d-Pantothenate, 8-Hydroxyquinolene Sulphate, Live Yeast Cell Extract, Folic Acid, Chlorobutanol, Menthyl Nicontinate, Organic Sulfur, Nucleic Acids.

Herbal Extracts:
Horse Tail, Stinging Nettle, Horse Chestnut, Birch, Burdock Root, Mistletoe, Chamomile, Hops, Balmint, Fennel, Yarrow, Soluble Collagen Derivatives, Quaternary Derivatives of Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein, Glucose, Glutamate, Biotin, Plant Protein, Saw Palmetto Berry Extract

Although presence of an adequate amount of vitamins is necessary for growth and health of hair follicles, hair follicles generally get them through blood circulation and there is no evidence to show topical vitamins have any effect on growth of hair follicles. Among the other ingredients, you can see some herbal extracts such as saw palmetto which claims some DHT blocking activities. The data on the effectiveness of topical DHT blockers are positive, but the studies are very limited and more research is needed before we can recommend those to our patients for the treatment of hair loss.

There is no direct comparison between Regenix and standard approaches with Propecia and/or minoxidil. One would need this to determine the cost effectiveness of this type of product in comparison with medications such as finasteride and minoxidil that are being used for prevention of hair loss. Those studies are just not available.

July 6, 2007

Taking Viagra to Counteract Side Effects of Propecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doctor if sexual dysfunction is a side effect of propecia,and if i stop propecia the balding process will resume,could take viagra counteract the sexual side effects of propecia,and allow to continue to take propecia? And if not,would minoxidil alone do the job? Thanks in advance.

Block Quote

Good question. First, only about 1% of the male population get erectile dysfunction from Propecia. There is no contraindication for using Viagra while on Propecia. The two medications do not have any interaction and it is safe to take them together. In fact, I recommend the use of Viagra (Cialis or Levitra) to the patients who experience erectile problems. A man whose sex drive is reduced while on Propecia will often not be helped by Viagra, as this only impacts the strength of an erection. Most young men do not have a lack of sex drive or an erectile problem, but as they get older (e.g. 30% of men in their 30s have ED, 40% in their 40s, 50% in their 50s, etc.). As ED is often present in men (with denial), the addition of Propecia may make the problem worse. Still, again, it is relatively infrequent.

July 6, 2007

Can Concealers Such as Toppik or DermMatch Effect Finasteride? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi dr Rassman! thanks a lot for this wonderful site. I am wondering ıf you see some hair loss signs in your son, what will you do FIRST to treat it? and also, have you ever used concealers such as toppik, dermmatch, couvre….? can they effect the working of finasteride? thanks a lot.

If my son had early miniaturization, I would immediately start him on Propecia. That is what I did with one of my three sons. The use of concealers should not impact finasteride.

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