Category: Drugs

Snippet from the article:

Mean hair counts rose and mean hair loss slowed after injections of botulinum toxin A.

Botulinum toxin A (BTX A) has been used for the treatment of wrinkles, hyperhidrosis, and headaches. Now, here comes an open-label pilot study from Canada of BTX A to treat androgenic alopecia. The study was supported by an educational grant from the manufacturer, and the authors hold intellectual property rights to the treatment process.

Fifty males with Norwood/Hamilton alopecia classes II to IV had injections to the scalp muscles (divided equally to the frontalis, temporalis, periauricular, and occipitalis) of a total of 150 units of BTX A, followed by a second session 24 weeks later. Assessment included change in hair counts in a 2-cm scalp area, changes in hair loss counts collected by lint roller from the subject’s pillow, and patient responses to a questionnaire. The 60-week study period consisted of a 12-week baseline lead-in period and two 24-week treatment periods following each BTX A treatment session.

Read the rest — Growing Hair with Botox

As I wrote a couple weeks ago, I am concerned that there may be a rush to use Botox in balding men and women since this could become a lucrative money machine for the doctor. I’ve been asked if I’d consider offering this as a service, and to be honest, I probably would on the proviso that the patient will allow me to make bulk measurements of the scalp and hair before and after a period of 6 and 12 months. My goal here would be to determine if this approach works or not. With bulk measurements done before the treatment is started, the patient acts like his own control. In this way, this becomes an experiment of sorts and the results would then be made available to the medical and lay community.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Press release from ISHRS:

International Society Of Hair Restoration Surgery Maintains Safety And Efficacy Of Propecia (Finasteride 1mg) For Male Hair Loss Is Backed By Proven Scientific Data

According to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) – the world’s leading medical authority on hair loss and hair restoration – recent anecdotal reports of persistent sexual dysfunction by some men who have used finasteride 1mg (Propecia) to treat hair loss should not define the safety and effectiveness of this drug. Propecia is the only oral medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hair loss in men.

From a scientific standpoint, there are no evidence-based data substantiating the link between finasteride and persistent sexual side effects after discontinued use of the drug in numerous, double blinded, placebo controlled studies conducted evaluating the use of Propecia 1mg for hair loss.

“As one of the 900 physician members of the ISHRS, the health and well being of our patients is our utmost concern – whether prescribing medications like Propecia or performing hair restoration surgery,we have treated hundreds of men suffering from hair loss with finasteride 1mg with virtually no side effects.”

Since receiving FDA approval in December of 1997, 20.5 million and 6.7 million patient-years of exposure using Proscar and Propecia respectively are recorded with a low adverse event profile. The ISHRS believes that these are the most current and reliable data available until further studies are conducted.

Sexual dysfunction is a very complex disorder, and its incidence in the general population is known to be quite high – as high as 49% in middle-aged and older men according to one study published in 2006 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. That being said, we owe it to our patients to address valid concerns in a scientific manner and to clarify any misleading reports so that men can make informed choices regarding the use of this medication.

The ISHRS has called on the medical communities of dermatologists, hair loss physicians, urologists, endocrinologists and sexual medicine specialists to join in a colloquium to share all data and experiences with finasteride in a fact-based manner.

The above text is a press release sent to ISHRS member physicians to send out with individual doctors names attached. We’re posting it without the personalization, but we agree with what they’re saying about the lack of evidence-based data when it comes to persistent sexual side effects from Propecia.

Hello,

After using minoxidil for a year, I’m noticing an increased shedding similar to the first dread shed. Is this normal? After shedding a lot during the initial use, i had solid head of hair without losing a single strand. But now, I’m shedding a ton a year later. Is this normal?? I’m 26 years old.

The hallmark of genetic balding is the lack of stability of the process. Genetic balding is a progressive process that can come in spurts. Maybe that is what is happening to you. Not everyone experiences shedding from minoxidil use. See a specialist in this field and maybe he/she can shed some light on your problem.

I wanted to run this article by you and your readers. I am not sure to the validity of the article, I will leave that up for you to decide.

Something I wanted to address that I have seen a lot of, on the web, is skeptics that believe that the “evil” drug companies are holding out on everyday consumers. They know how many millions of individuals would pay large amounts of money for a cure. It would make perfect “cents” that IF a pharmaceutical company had a cure, they would take it public!

Link: Male Pattern Baldness Solution Ready for Use?

The need to define the limitations of the drug and make realistic claims about it (which reflect overall safety and effectiveness) is critical before the pharmaceutical company that owns the rights to the drug can put it on the market and make a fortune on it… IF IT WORKS. It is obvious that a working and safe treatment is critical to the path that this drug must follow. It’s in any company’s best interest to be able to prove a working cure is available. The first to reach that milestone will reap large financial rewards.

In regards to the article, whether Latisse works on the scalp or not, the current financial costs are likely to be out of reach for most people, as the drug is packaged in small doses for use in eyelash growth. Allergan (the makers of Latisse) are conducting trials for scalp hair loss, and the results of which should be released sometime next year. If successful, we’ll see what happens from there.

Hi – First, thanks for a great online resource. I’ve been taking propecia for close to eight months and within the last month have noticed increased hair shedding. Hair in my frontal area also looks quite thin when wet. I’ve read about increased shedding 2-3 months after starting propecia, but what does shedding this late indicate? Most of my hair loss is frontal / mid-anterior; no significant hair loss around my crown.

Thanks!

The tug of war between hair loss and the treatment of hair loss may be swinging to the hair loss side. It’s not common to have an increase in shedding start 8 months or so after treatment began. Ask your prescribing doctor and see what he/she thinks.

Did you get baseline testing of your hair bulk when you started to take the Propecia? If you did, you would know more about the cause and extent of the process you are experiencing.

I am a 24-year-old male and have been on Propecia for roughly two and a half years. I take it every day as soon as I wake up, but on weekends when I sleep in I find myself taking it two hours or so later than usual. Does this significantly impact its effectiveness?

No, it does not. We measure Propecia both in the blood stream (a half life of 4-6 hours is thought to be the standard) and in tissue fixed areas (we believe that this remains in the tissues up to a week after ingesting the drug). Slight variations in daily intake timing will not impact the efficacy of the drug.

I’ve been taking Finasteride 1mg for about 8 years now. I’m looking to start a family and I think I will stop taking the drug for the mean time. How long does it take for finastaride 1mg to leave my body. Thank you

Finasteride is cleared from the blood stream within 24-48 hours (its half life is 4-6 hours) and it is cleared from the body’s tissues within a week. I understand your concern that finasteride might impact the baby in some way, but experience with the drug has not shown birth defects in babies born from men who were actively taking the drug at conception. Significant amounts of finasteride have not been found in a man’s semen.

When asked about this, I often suggest that the men who are concerned should stop the drug about 7 days after the woman’s menstrual period starts and hold off taking it for a total of 10 days In a woman with a normal 28 day menstrual cycle, fertility usually occurs between the 12th and the 16th day.

About 2.5 months post op from my tranplant (4,000 grafts) I developed a case of Seborrheic Dermatitis. Medicated shampoos were not working so my dermatologist prescribed a desonide/ciclopirox cream (mild steroid/anti-fungal) to be applied 2x per day. Will a cream block my pores and stunt my transplant growth?

Since it’s already over 2 months since your hair transplant, I wouldn’t be concerned. You should play it safe and talk with your surgeon about this.

Hi Doc

I’ve been reading that forum for quite a time, and i am still a bit messed when it comes to long term propecia (finasteride) efficacy. In one of your last posts you wrote ‘The problem is that many people who see it stop may find that it picks up again years ”

when you say ‘many’ i guess you take it from your practice over the years, do you keep firm statistics about that like what percentage of your patients is that. Another important thing is when you say ‘picks up’ does it mean that there are people who went completely bald while on finasteride or they just lost some small percentage of their hair? thanks

The quote you’re referencing is from this post, which wasn’t about finasteride. I was answering a question about final hair loss patterns. So what I was talking about was that for those men with hair loss that has seemingly stopped on its own, they may see additional hair loss as time goes on.

I don’t have firm statistics to share regarding my patients that have seen their hair loss halt and then eventually start again while they maintained finasteride use over years. Not every patient comes back in for follow-ups. As I’ve written before, you can look at it like a tug-of-war between finasteride and your genetics. Eventually, the genetics will win out. To what degree and when, I have no idea. If you stop finasteride, the tug of war will end faster in the direction of more balding.