12 Common medicines treatment hair loss in women - 3

6. Diazoxide for female

Diazoxide is a nondiuretic benzothiazide. This potent and rarely anti-hypertensive agent has diverse pharmacologic effects including :

Hypertrichosis (hair growth). Hyperglycemia associated with suppression of insulin release, which is why it is used to treat idiopathic hypoglycemia of infancy. Elevation of serum levels of androgens.

hair loss

Taking advantage of the hypertrichotic side effects of diazoxide, several authors have examined the effect of topical application of the drug on hair re-growth in androgenetic alopecia. A topical formulation of diazoxide was reported in 1989 to show efficacy in male pattern baldness. Nineteen men with "early to midstage" androgenetic alopecia were treated with 3% diazoxide solution twice daily for 2 to 11 months. Reports indicate that four men had a dense growth of new hair, seven had moderate growth by way of some new terminal hairs, one had vellus hair growth, and seven had no re-growth at all. Local irritation occurred in one patient.

7. Estrogen for female

Topical estrogen is used by some to treat pattern hair loss.

Estrogens are indirect anti androgens, increasing the production of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and thus leading to a decrease in the bioactive free testosterone. SHBG, a glycoprotein synthesized by the liver, is the most important protein for androgen binding .The more potent androgens and estradiol are bound in the plasma to SHBG, although the binding affinities differ. Elevated testosterone causes SHBG synthesis to decrease, in addition to an increased activity of 5 alpha - Reductase, the enzyme responsible for the metabolism of testosterone to DHT. Estrogens increase Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and thus further decrease the amount of free testosterone.

Extensive clinical trials of the use of a topical estrogen preparation in subjects with androgenetic alopecia have been not been conducted as yet. However, one double-blind, controlled, 6-month trial of topical 0.025% 17 alpha - estradiol conducted with 51 men and women who had pattern alopecia showed a significant reduction in the percentage of telogen hairs along with stabilization of the hair loss. Although more than 70 percent of a topically applied preparation is metabolized to weak non-androgenic by-products, the absorption of topical estrogen can lead to decreased libido in men.

Topical estrogens are not generally available in North America, but they are being used in Europe and topical estrogen products are available from a number of pharmaceutical companies there. There seems to be some confusion over which estrogen formulation is best (as there are different types of estrogen) but it seems that estrogen application topically could help treat pattern baldness in both men and women.

8. Progesterone for female

Progesterone is a potential topical hormone for treating male pattern baldness.

Topical progesterone has been utilized widely, but has not been thoroughly tested in clinical studies. One study undertaken to ascertain the efficacy of the compound used topical progesterone (concentration and vehicle unnamed) for 10 to 48 months in 12 men, in the age group 18 to 39 years, with male pattern baldness. None of the subjects grew hair: 6 of them developed further thinning, and the other 6 had the same hair density.

Overall, topical progesterone has not been found to be of great value in treating androgenetic alopecia, but it can have a limited positive effect for some people.