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Farrell
Hair Replacement - Voted # 1 In The World For 5 Consecutive Years ! |
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From: Bryan to Common Sense
Date: 6/23/2002
Time: 2:40:06 PM
Remote Name: 209.144.226.211
>>Bryan, Your postings have long left me with the impression that you are way down on anti-androgen approaches. Just yesterday, 6/22, I stated "Going after the binding or manufacture of testosterone metabolites is where it's (research) at for now." You replied "Naw, I tend to agree with the previous poster (who said androgens is not where it's at). The antiandrogenic approach seems to get you only so far." Bryan, ALL current approaches only get you so far!<<
That's absolutely correct, but my intention has always been to counter the widespread attitude that if you could only achieve a powerful-enough antiandrogenic effect, then hair would just come flowing back onto your head, and you'd have all your missing hair back! That is clearly not the case. In general, people have always had the tendency to overestimate what antiandrogens and 5a-R inhibitors can do, and when I try to counter that attitude with a more reasonable one, it starts to APPEAR that I'm "way down" on them. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Right now, I have taking up lots of space in my refrigerator several bottles of linoleic acid, some 11a-hydroxyprogesterone, a tube of Skinoren, and several varieties of spironolactone. For being "down on" antiandrogens, I sure spend a lot of time and money on them! :-)
Once again, my intention is to foster a REASONABLE and APPROPRIATE attitude toward antiandrogens; that is, a reasonable middle-ground position. And that means that I take a lot of heat from the extreme positions on either side of me, which include the ones who think that antiandrogens are the final answer to MPB, and the ones who think that they are completely useless (yes, there are in fact a few people who believe that! Start reading alt.baldspot, and you'll find a couple of them!) The poor guy in the middle (Bryan) gets it from both sides! :-)
>>And I will give you some other unsolicited advice. You say you desire to use topicals. I would like to share with all readers that while we would all prefer a topical over an oral for safety reasons, keep in mind that to be effective the drug must be delivered to the deepest parts of the skin, and 100% protect the follicles that reside there from the androgenic effects 100% of the time! You can see where your topical minoxadil or fatty acids fall far short.<<
Huh?? Are you saying that topical minoxidil doesn't work, because it doesn't penetrate deeply enough? Do I even need to reply to that? :-)
As for fatty acids... Have you read the following study? Liang T, Liao S. "Growth suppression of hamster flank organs by topical application of gamma-linolenic and other fatty acid inhibitors of 5alpha-reductase", J Invest Dermatol 1997 Aug;109(2):152-7. In that study, gamma-linolenic acid and other fatty acids had a near-castration effect on hamster sebaceous glands, and furthermore, they also affected their HAIR FOLLICLES. I think it's a very distinct possibility that they have a similar effect in humans, since it doesn't take much to inhibit 5a-reductase. For instance, look at the study: "Follicular Concentration of Azelaic Acid After a Single Topical Application", Bojar et al, British Journal of Dermatology, (1993) 129, 399-402. Levels of the fatty acid azelaic acid after a SINGLE topical application in humans ranged from 2 to 251 mMol/l (a hell of a range, I know!). Now, keep in mind that the IC(50) value for 5a-R suppression by linoleic acid (one of the ones I use) is only about 80uM, and gamma-linolenic acid is even less! It looks like the levels of topical fatty acids that can get down into follicles are *potentially* about 1 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than what would be necessary to do some significant inhibition, leaving only cellular uptake as the variable. I can also provide you a reference for a test of topical GLA on a human that showed a very significant sebaceous gland inhibition, if you're interested. And finally, I have to mention this: none other than Angela Christiano said on Spencer Kobren's show that she did some testing of GLA, and she spoke glowingly about it! She said that it had surpassed the results from the commercially available drugs for hairloss; while she didn't specify which ones she meant, it seemed clear that she was referring to Rogaine and Propecia. I think the potential use of topical fatty acids for MPB is a VERY interesting and exciting. It clearly is devoid of systemic effects, and appears to have significant 5a-R inhibiting effects.
Bryan
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