Topical cetirizine shows higher clinical improvement for female androgenetic alopecia
Egypt: A new study has claimed that topical cetirizine with minoxidil for treating female androgenetic alopecia led to the patient's perspective of more remarkable clinical improvement with a good safety profile and increased hair shaft thickness. The study's findings appeared in the Archives of Dermatological Research on 26th December 2022.
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most frequent cause of hair loss in both genders, with a higher psychological impact on females. Minoxidil currently is the only FDA-approved treatment for female androgenetic alopecia (FAGA), and it needs lifelong application and causes side effects. Prostaglandins (PGs) may play a role in hair growth, PGF and PGE increase hair growth, but prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) inhibits it, increases sebaceous hyperplasia, and is elevated in bald scalp. Cetirizine is an antihistamine that increases PGE, inhibits PGD2 and reduces inflammatory cell infiltrate, making it a potentially safe treatment for androgenetic alopecia.
In the randomized, double-blind, controlled, parallel study conducted at Dermatology Clinic, Cairo University Teaching Hospital, Egypt, Eglal A. Bassiouny and colleagues aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of topical cetirizine with minoxidil (group 1) versus s topical minoxidil with placebo (group 2) in female patients with androgenetic alopecia. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on cetirizine as an add-on in female androgenetic alopecia," they wrote.
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