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Halting Female Baldness
Although hair loss conditions belong to some of the most common health conditions afflicting both sexes, they are often viewed merely as cosmetic issues and hardly treated. Hair loss starts with hair thinning which is in the initial stages of the balding process hard to recognize but it often leads to irreversible baldness in some parts of the scalp. Thin hair and bald spots not only make you appear much older in the eyes of others, they can also negatively affect your self-esteem and your mental health so that you start feeling older as well. Several forms of alopecia (hair loss) are known today but by far the most widespread type of baldness, both amongst male and female patients, is genetically determined hereditary form of hair loss. In men this condition is medicinally called male pattern baldness, typical for it horseshoe balding pattern, affecting mainly the frontal and vertex area of the scalp. Women also suffer from genetic hair loss called female pattern baldness but their balding pattern is less characteristic and so less easily recognizable by the naked eye because it is diffuse, spread around their entire scalp. It often takes several years to spot it and diagnose it correctly.
In the 1990s the main culprit responsible for causing hereditary baldness in men and women was identified as being the hair follicle damaging effects of the natural metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT). However, DHT only affects hair follicles susceptible to such attacks. Whether hair follicles are susceptible to DHT attacks or not depends on our genetic setup and, therefore, this type of genetic hair loss is dubbed hereditary. In some people certain follicles are susceptible to DHT effects; in some they are not and will be producing hair for their entire lives. Since it is practically impossible to influence heredity using the current medicinal means, the only effective method of treating hereditary baldness consists is hindering the conversion of the male hormone testosterone into DHT by the use of DHT inhibitor medications often called as antiandrogens. Antiandrogens as their name indicates reduce the androgen activity in human body.
Finasteride was the first DHT inhibitor drug approved by the FDA in the 1990s to treat hereditary baldness in male patients (it was by the time already used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia) and today you can see that millions of men are using finasteride 1mg pill daily in order to save their hair follicles from miniaturization and resulting hair loss. Despite all its success and no matter how effective this substance is in men protecting their hair, it cannot be taken by women due to harmful defects it could potentially cause to the male fetus in pregnant females. But there is one alternative to finasteride, an antiandrogen drug called spironolactone that females can use to protect their hair follicles from DHT which also works by inhibiting the formation of DHT but, in addition to that, it also interferes with its activity at receptor sites in hair follicles by taking their position and thus disabling interactions with DHT. This double effect enables female hair loss patients to preserve and regenerate their thin and to certain degree also already lost hair often faster than men using Propecia (finasteride). At the moment a molecule similar to finasteride called dutasteride is being explored for treating hereditary baldness in men and it happens to be in the last fourth stage of clinical testing. If approved it would improve the chances of balding male patients who no longer respond to finasteride of maintaining and regrowing some of their hair. Unfortunately, neither finasteride nor dutasteride can be used to treat female hair loss due to the risk of adverse effects on the male fetus in the pregnant woman's body.
Spironolactone (trade name Aldactone) is a diuretic with antiandrogen properties and it was originally used to treat high blood pressure. Later when its antiandrogenic properties were further explored it began to be used to treat other health conditions such as hirsutism (undesired growth of body hair), resistant hormonal acne and hereditary baldness in female patients. Many female hair loss sufferers get Aldactone prescribed off-label by their hair restoration doctors as a weapon of the last resort so that they can buy spironolactone to treat genetic hair loss. Due to its strong antiandrogenic properties spironolactone possesses very strong feminizing effects and, therefore, it cannot be used by male patients. In addition, pregnant women or women who wish to get pregnant may not use this drug either. However, it needs to be said that Aldactone (spironolactone), though relatively little known as such, is currently the most effective treatment for female adult acne as well as female hereditary baldness and it can be administered safely when used in combination with some effective contraceptive in order to reduce the risk pregnancy and possible health complications.
In the 1990s the main culprit responsible for causing hereditary baldness in men and women was identified as being the hair follicle damaging effects of the natural metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT). However, DHT only affects hair follicles susceptible to such attacks. Whether hair follicles are susceptible to DHT attacks or not depends on our genetic setup and, therefore, this type of genetic hair loss is dubbed hereditary. In some people certain follicles are susceptible to DHT effects; in some they are not and will be producing hair for their entire lives. Since it is practically impossible to influence heredity using the current medicinal means, the only effective method of treating hereditary baldness consists is hindering the conversion of the male hormone testosterone into DHT by the use of DHT inhibitor medications often called as antiandrogens. Antiandrogens as their name indicates reduce the androgen activity in human body.
Finasteride was the first DHT inhibitor drug approved by the FDA in the 1990s to treat hereditary baldness in male patients (it was by the time already used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia) and today you can see that millions of men are using finasteride 1mg pill daily in order to save their hair follicles from miniaturization and resulting hair loss. Despite all its success and no matter how effective this substance is in men protecting their hair, it cannot be taken by women due to harmful defects it could potentially cause to the male fetus in pregnant females. But there is one alternative to finasteride, an antiandrogen drug called spironolactone that females can use to protect their hair follicles from DHT which also works by inhibiting the formation of DHT but, in addition to that, it also interferes with its activity at receptor sites in hair follicles by taking their position and thus disabling interactions with DHT. This double effect enables female hair loss patients to preserve and regenerate their thin and to certain degree also already lost hair often faster than men using Propecia (finasteride). At the moment a molecule similar to finasteride called dutasteride is being explored for treating hereditary baldness in men and it happens to be in the last fourth stage of clinical testing. If approved it would improve the chances of balding male patients who no longer respond to finasteride of maintaining and regrowing some of their hair. Unfortunately, neither finasteride nor dutasteride can be used to treat female hair loss due to the risk of adverse effects on the male fetus in the pregnant woman's body.
Spironolactone (trade name Aldactone) is a diuretic with antiandrogen properties and it was originally used to treat high blood pressure. Later when its antiandrogenic properties were further explored it began to be used to treat other health conditions such as hirsutism (undesired growth of body hair), resistant hormonal acne and hereditary baldness in female patients. Many female hair loss sufferers get Aldactone prescribed off-label by their hair restoration doctors as a weapon of the last resort so that they can buy spironolactone to treat genetic hair loss. Due to its strong antiandrogenic properties spironolactone possesses very strong feminizing effects and, therefore, it cannot be used by male patients. In addition, pregnant women or women who wish to get pregnant may not use this drug either. However, it needs to be said that Aldactone (spironolactone), though relatively little known as such, is currently the most effective treatment for female adult acne as well as female hereditary baldness and it can be administered safely when used in combination with some effective contraceptive in order to reduce the risk pregnancy and possible health complications.