Hair Loss Treatment Information

January 19, 2010 · Posted in baldness · Comment 

Americans who suffer from hair loss have access to two drugs, both of which the FDA has approved for use as a hair loss treatment. Yet that does not mean that American drug stores stock only two different treatments, treatments that can help a patient to counter hair loss problems. Certain medicines that have been marketed as a cure for an alternate medical problem also work as an aid in the fight against unwanted hair loss.

When physicians find that a drug can be used to treat a medical condition other than the condition for which it was approved by the FDA, then that drug is said to have an “off-label use.” Avodart serves as an excellent example of just how off-label use can help someone who suffers from hair loss.. Avodart is sold as a drug for men with benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH).

Avodart prevents the formation of DHT. For that reason, Glaxo Smith Kline markets the drig as a treatment for BPH. Since a high level of DHT can lead to hair loss, some men have tried using Avodart as a treatment for hair loss.

The drug named Nizoral serves as another example of how the off-label use some medicines can benefit patients with troublesome hair loss. The FDA has approved Nizoral as a treatment for dandruff. It increases the thickness of the hair. Because it also keeps DHT from binding to hair follicles, Nizoral appears able to help patients who are bothered by hair loss.

Beyond the potential benefits of medicines found to have an off-label use, the known benefits of approved drugs promise help to those with hair loss. One of those drugs is Propecia. Like Avodart, Propecia blocks the ability of DHT to interfere with the hair growth cycle. Propecia keeps a particular enzyme from binding to testosterone. In that way, it prevents the formation of DHT.

Of course not all physicians in the U.S. recommend Propecia as a treatment for hair loss. Some doctors suggest that patients with hair loss try using Rogaine. Rogaine makes it easier for existing hairs to take-in the nutrients that are in the blood. Rogaine encourages the growth of tiny hairs in the scalp. Following the application of Rogaine, those tiny hairs become longer and thicker hairs.

Researchers pursue their work on another way to create longer and thicker hairs. In the future, those with hair loss could benefit from a drug with thymosin beta 4. That protein helps the hair follicle to hold onto acitin, a hair-strengthening substance.

Author: Romy Raut
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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