"Pills for Hair Growth"
“Any consumer looking on the Internet for a treatment
for hair loss is exposed to a multitude of remedies.”
However, we only have good evidence for efficacy for the
FDA-approved drugs, finasteride, sold as Propecia,
and minoxidil, sold as Rogaine.
It’s considered a myth that all the patented hair-loss supplements
on the market will increase hair growth.
And they may actually be more expensive, with over-the-counter supplement
regimens costing up to more than a thousand dollars a year,
whereas the drugs may only be one to three hundred dollars.
The drugs can help but can cause side-effects.
The Propecia can diminish libido and cause sexual disfunction,
while the topical Minoxidil can cause itching.
(Though I believe this a typo for scaling—much better than scalping.)
Here’s a more comprehensive list of the more common side effects.
To understand why there are so many hormonal side-effects
for Propecia like impotence, testicular pain, and breast enlargement,
you have to understand how the drug works.
Androgens, male hormones like testosterone,
are the principal drivers of hair growth in both men and women.
We know this from studies a half century ago
that show that castration of men stopped hair loss.
Why exactly were they being castrated?
Due to eugenics laws in the United States,
when mentally handicapped persons were castrated
or had their tubes tied against their will.
So-called retarded persons were routinely sterilized
without their consent or knowledge and we,
the United States of America, was the first country to introduce
eugenic laws, which were later upheld by the US Supreme Court.
In the 1930s, a vocal proponent complained that
“The Germans are beating us at our own game.”
Anyway, testosterone is the primary androgen circulating in the blood
and can be converted to dihydrotestosterone,
which is even more powerful by an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase.
That’s the enzyme that's blocked by Propecia,
so it inhibits the souping up of testosterone.
That’s why women are not supposed to take it
since it could femininize male fetuses;
whereas for men it has the sexual side effects
like erectile dysfunction, which can affect men for years.
It’s something the drug companies had to disclose for the last decade:
“a difﬁculty in achieving an erection
that continues after stopping the medication,”
side effects that may even be permanent.
Up to 20 percent of subjects reporting persistent sexual dysfunction
for six or more years after stopping the drug,
suggesting the possibility that it may never go away.
What we think might be happening is that the drug
may actually structurally change the part of your brain
responsible for sexual function.
And indeed, though blood levels of hormones in users
with persistent effects appear normal.
If you do a spinal tap and look at the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding their brains,
neurosteroid levels do appear to end up being altered.
So, it's "recommended that prescribers of ﬁnasteride,
as well as potential users, be aware of the potential serious
long-term risks of a medication used for a cosmetic purpose.”
To date, no new interventions are used routinely
in the treatment of male or female pattern baldness.
Given the side-effects of the current drug options,
there is a need for alternative treatments.
So, what about foods? Things we could eat to combat hair loss.
That’s exactly what we’re going to explore next.