Topical minoxidil in early male pattern baldness.
One-hundred twenty-six healthy men with early male pattern baldness completed a 12-month double-blind, controlled trial of 2% and 3% topical minoxidil. Subjects were initially randomly assigned to use placebo or 2% or 3% topical minoxidil. After 4 months of study, the placebo group was crossed over to 3% topical minoxidil. Both objective measurement of hair growth by counting of vellus, terminal, and total hairs in a vertex target balding area and subjective assessment by subject and investigator were done. Treatment of subjects with topical minoxidil for 4 months resulted in a statistically significant increase in terminal hair growth in comparison with placebo therapy. In addition, subjects initially treated with placebo, when crossed over to topical minoxidil, showed a significant increase in the number of terminal hairs. No subject had a net hair loss in the target area during the study. These results indicate that topical minoxidil can increase terminal hair growth in early male pattern baldness.
D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D000505:Alopecia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008914:Minoxidil / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011897:Random Allocation
D008914:Minoxidil