Question by Fred: what are the quickest and most effective treatments for hair loss (alopecia) in 15 year old?
Best answer:
Answer by dr.marcovici
I will relegate my response to the presumption that you are, first of all, a male, and second, experiencing common pattern hair loss aka androgenetic alopecia (AGA). For anyone who does not fit these two conditions, the following advice may not apply.
AGA is by far the most widespread form of hair loss affecting more than 95% of those who experience loss of hair. It is axiomatic that the younger a person is when they begin losing hair the more severe the degree of loss will be. Until recently, few safe and efficacious options of any kind were available.
In the past few years a number of options have been tested and made available. Two choices will be discussed in this response. The first is pharmacotherapy (Rx). The second is non-drug, botanically-based.
The Rx options for a man consist of basically three choices. The first, topical minoxidil (Rogaine™), is applied directly to the thinning scalp once or twice daily. Published studies show that the use of this drug can arrest, or in some cases reverse thinning hair — however the specific mechanism of action by which minoxidil affects hair growth remains undetermined.
Observed side effects of oral minoxidil include pericardial effusion, occasionally progressing to tamponade, and angina pectoris may be exacerbated. In experimental animals, minoxidil caused several kinds of myocardial lesions as well as other adverse cardiac effects. Side effects with topical minoxidil are typically noted to be less severe but negative side effects are certainly not unknown.
The next drug available to treat pattern hair loss is oral finasteride (1 mg. Propecia™). Finasteride, a type II 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor has also demonstrated efficacy in blinded clinical trials. In a 5-year study of men with mild to moderate hair loss, 48% of those treated with Propecia (finasteride 1mg) experienced some regrowth of hair, and a further 42% reported no further loss.
Side effects reported with finasteride include a change in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, feminizing birth defects, impotence, decreased libido, gynecomastia (male breast enlargement) and others.
Dutasteride, a dual 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor was recently approved for the treatment in men of pattern hair loss. Unlike finasteride, dutasteride blocks both known isoforms of 5 alpha-reductase; type I & type II. Some studies suggest that dutasteride outperforms finasteride in preventing hair loss.
Known side effects of dutasteride are similar to those observed with finasteride. These include impotence, decreased libido, ejaculation disorders, gynecomastia and other potential issues.
Recently, a novel approach to the problem has been the administration of non-drug based botanically-derived therapy. The concept for this has come from the use of botanicals to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a disorder with a somewhat similar metabolic chain of events to pattern hair loss.
Several non-drug treatment choices have become available in the past few years. Although most naturally derived hair loss treatments advertise a high safety profile — particularly when compared against pharmacotherapy, few are supported with published clinical research. This is highly relevant inasmuch as without objective evidence it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to assess the potential utility of a given product.
To sum up, particularly for a young person (age 15) who is beginning to experience hair loss, a reasoned approach, of balancing known clinical utility against potential negative side effect, must be employed. Pharmacotherapy offers putative benefit but, especially for a young person, may exhibit unreasonable potential risk. Non-drug based therapies offer the promise of safer clinical results but must be scrutinized to focus on those that truly back their claims with empirical data.
The best resource I can suggest to anyone concerned about hair loss is to enlist the aid of one’s primary care provider because this is, presumably, an informed advocate who has the patient’s best interests in mind.
signed,
Geno Marcovici, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
HairGenesis
www.hairgenesis.com
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