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Revision as of 08:28, 17 February 2007

dead link

DHT: the full story this link is dead --Wiserd 11:01, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

recommended treatments

Could someone source these recommendation. I've removed them for now. If you have a source, please provide and reinsert. I'm not arguing against them. But they need sources. We have to be careful not to advertise products as much as provide well-sourced information on the ingredients in those products and how they interact. "Everything else" is a very broad claim.

The most recommended treatments, in order of proven effectiveness, greatest to least, is as follows: 
(1) Propecia (2) Rogaine (3) Tricomin (4) Topical Spiro 5% (5) Revivogen (6) Crinagen (7) Folligen (8) Everything else.

For those in the early stages of hair loss, it is generally recommended to start slow, using propecia alone for at least a year, as it has very good maintenance rates, then adding other products, such as minoxidil, if regrowth is desired.

--Ryan Wise 04:04, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

self contradiction

this paragraph contradicts itself: "One explanation for the relationship between lifestyle and male pattern baldness is that lower caloric intake along with more aerobic exercise can decrease insulin levels, resulting in a host of metabolic adjustments which contribute, in the end, to hair loss. Insulin downregulates sex hormone binding globulin. In individuals with moderate levels of SHBG, SHBG would bind to testosterone and helps prevent it's conversion into DHT in the scalp via 5-alpha reductase. But in individuals with lower levels of SHBG, more testosterone is left to float free in the bloodstream and thus be converted into DHT in the scalp. Levels of DHT in the scalp are a key factor in male pattern baldness. This link between diet, insulin, SHBG, androgens and baldness helps to explain recent studies which have shown that early male pattern baldness is an indicator for various metabolic and cardiovascular problems. In other words, diabetes, hairloss and cardiovascualr disease may all be linked to high caloric intake and low exercies." Dreamer.redeemer 06:22, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the catch. Fixed.

--Ryan Wise 15:05, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

“Evidence is mounting that the existence of a high estrogen/androgen ratio - a condition common in older men - is highly correlated with the development of benign prostatic hyperplastic.”

should it be "prostatic hyperplasia?"

--Ryan Wise 15:19, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

genetics vs. lifestyle and MPB

I agree that there are numerous indicators that MPB rate of progression has a genetic component due to androgen receptor polymorphisms and distribution, 5-alpha reductase levels in the scalp, total testosterone, mean free testosterone and so forth.

However endurance exercise decreases inflammatory response, baseline total testosterone and baseline free testosterone. It decreases free testosterone both by reducing baseline total testosterone and also by increasing levels of SHBG which further decreases free testosterone. Free testosterone and not total testosterone determines the amount of T converted to DHT. I'll assume I don't need to provide support for the assertion that lowering DHT will help treat MPB? Please note that strength training has the effect of raising, not lowering, free testosterone and relevant studies should specifically indicate aerobic exercise.

Aerobic exercise has been shown to lower free and total androgen levels in animals and humans. --Ryan Wise 03:19, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Zinc supplementation in rats subjected to acute swimming exercise: Its effect on testosterone levels and relation with lactate.

Testosterone and endurance exercise: development of the "exercise-hypogonadal male condition".

a link between c-reactive protein in women, a marker for inflammation, and exercise

Hyperinsulinaemia has been shown to have a direct effect on the liver, suppressing the production of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins 1 and 2 (IGFBP-1, -2) while stimulating the production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)...Men adopting a low-fat diet and daily exercise reduced their levels of serum insulin and IGF-1, while increasing their levels of IGFBP-1 and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)...BMI has strong effects on IGFBPs, C-peptide, and SHBG, but its effects on IGF-I remain unclear. The possible effect of physical activity on IGFBP-1 requires further investigation.

When we placed men from the United States on a low-fat diet and/or exercise program, serum levels of insulin, free testosterone, estradiol and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 were reduced while sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-1 were elevated.

Sex hormone-binding globulin and serum testosterone are inversely associated with C-reactive protein levels in postmenopausal women at high risk for cardiovascular disease. --Ryan Wise 14:48, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

"Some speculate the increase in baldness in the population of Japan after World War II demonstrates that hair loss can be influenced by diet and lifestyle. Increased fat or caloric intake, decrease in aerobic exercise and general "westernization" was accompanied by a dramatic increase in incidence of male pattern baldness.

Skeptics of this analysis believe the westernization that led to increased hair loss in Japan may have occurred in the gene pool, noting the higher propensity of hair loss in American soldiers of European descent stationed in and around Japan after the war."

The last parapgraph is unlear. Why is higher propensity of hair loss in Americans stationed in Japan sn evidence against the lifestyle hypothesis? Was their hair loss increased compared to soldiers stationed elsewhere? What does the gene pool have to do with it? Are they referring to the effects of radiation, the mixing with local population?

Saw Palmetto defacement

Someone keeps inserting the claim that saw palmetto has no beneficial effects on male pattern baldness despite the fact that I gave three references to medical publications proving it.

Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) is an herbal DHT inhibitor often claimed to be cheaper and have fewer side effects than finesteride and dutasteride. Unlike other 5alpha-reductase inhibitors, Saw Palmetto extract works without interfering with the cellular capacity to secrete PSA.

Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) is an herbal DHT inhibitor often claimed to be cheaper and have fewer side effects than finesteride and dutasteride. Unfortunately despite many claims made by snake oil salesmen, it has no scientific evidence backing it as a hair loss treatment, whatsoever. All studies done on it have established that it is beneficial for prostate conditions, but failed to reduce serum DHT levels to a sufficient extent to affect hair loss in a positive manner.

Saw palmetto extract has been demonstrated to inhibit both isoforms of alpha-5-reductase unlike finesteride which only inhibits the (predominant) type 2 isoenzyme of alpha-5-reductase.

And saw palmetto is, demonstratably, cheaper than finesteride. This isn't a claim. Do I need to provide references to support this too?!

There's no reason to delete the references that show that saw palmetto inhibits both 5-alpha-reductase isoenzymes except to support a biased POV. If you want to add references to show that saw palmetto cannot possibly prevent MPB please do, but unsupported statements that saw palmetto is sold by 'snake oil salesmen' are POV and deserve to be deleted. --Ryan Wise 03:19, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

LOL!

Why are patrick stewart and yul brynner's photos used in the article for baldness TREATMENTS? I hardly think it is fitting to use them for such a page!!! :D

drugs and placebos

The following doesn't follow logically. Success rates are not the same as side effects.

Interestingly, placebo treatments in studies often have reasonable success rates, though not as high as the products being tested, and even similar side-effects as the products. For example, in Finasteride (propecia) studies, the percent of patients with any drug-related sexual adverse experience was 3.8% compared with 2.0% in the placebo group.

--Ryan Wise 04:01, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

External links

There are quite a few. Any that are particularly important? - brenneman 02:26, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

hyperplastic?

Evidence is mounting that the existence of a high estrogen/androgen ratio - a condition common in older men - is highly correlated with the development of benign prostatic hyperplastic.

shouldn't this be hyperplasia? I'm not certain since this isn't my field. Just a guess.

Revivogen

The outcomes research for this product is flimsy at best..even anecdotal evidence is lacking, so why does Revivogen get a whole section whilst something like Retin-A (which does have properly peer-reviewed outcomes research available) get half a line? Did someone just copy and paste this from hairlosstalk (which promotes Revivogen as it sells it)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.6.206.138 (talk • contribs) 08:32, 9 August 2006 (UTC).

Agreed and removed. I'm amazed no one else caught this blatant breach of Misplaced Pages:Reliable Sources earlier. --  Netsnipe    11:25, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Restored the section. The section is NPOV and all the links are to scans of a paper from the University of Chicago. Someone else more qualified than I needs to recheck it. --  Netsnipe    11:40, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Alternative medicine

In General Concerns:

Proponents of alternative therapies believe that the majority of cases of hair loss that progress despite treatments do so because the people believe no such cure can occur. In this view, this belief, which is prevailing in the modern civilised world and continuously reinforced by medical science, is the main obstacle for effectively finding and applying a cure.

This is only vaguely literate and seems to be a snipe at science rather than anything about the subject? I've removed it completely as a result.

Apparently a new treatment is in the works, "The HairMax LaserComb". It sounds rather melodramatic to me, but here is a link: http://www.playfuls.com/news_004759_FDA_Clears_The_HairMax_LaserComb.html