5 ms·
> Findings from the study show that the deoxy ribose sugar is as effective at regrowing hair as Minoxidil - an existing drug used to treat hair loss Minoxidil
by worstspotgain 2y ago
> Findings from the study show that the deoxy ribose sugar is as effective at regrowing hair as Minoxidil - an existing drug used to treat hair loss
Minoxidil is barely effective, especially for something that became widely available. It got approved in the 80s as a topical version of a hypertension drug, and IIRC the McStudy that supported it was funded by the original patent holder.
I don't think anyone had much of a problem with it, as the market was previously 100% snake oil, and this sort of thing happens even with drugs for serious diseases. If you benefit from the placebo effect and stop stressing out about it, then maybe the drug really "works"?
Since the discovery in the article is pretty much a mirror of the story of Minoxidil, I would default to being skeptical of the claims.
The 5-alpha-reductase (5ar) inhibitors [1] like finasteride and dutasteride do work. The 5ar enzyme converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT.) Over time, DHT causes sensitive follicles to shrink further and further and the hair growth phase to get shorter and shorter, until it reaches zero. People whose skin is genetically less DHT-sensitive go bald later in life or not at all.
However, the inhibitors have systemic reach, and their long-term consequences are hard to study. It is (was?) believed that DHT is not practically useful in adults, but this was partly based on research on people who are 5ar-deficient due to a genetic mutation. They also have a less-than-pretty clinical picture [2] because they had no DHT when it mattered (in the womb) so the safety argument has always been rather tentative.
If you're balding, you should ask yourself how much it really matters to you. Are you willing to take a serious drug for decades, with less-than-well-understood systemic consequences? No one will really be able to answer your what-ifs.
Some people really stress out about it, and I'd say they are good candidates. But if you don't really care all that much, you're much better off letting Darwin take the wheel on this one.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_5α-reductase_inhibitors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_5α-reductase_inhibitor...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5α-Reductase_2_deficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5α-Reductase_2_deficiency
- Traubenfuchs 2y ago> Minoxidil is barely effective Nonsense. It's extremely effective taken orally (to increase scalp, body and beard hair count and thickness) as proven by many studies and countless anecdotes.
- michaelscott 2y agoCompletely ancedotal, but I've taken minoxidil and finasteride for a little over a year. I took a break from minoxidil only for a few months and found my hair grew considerably slower than when I was on both. I think this makes sense given what minoxidil is supposed to do, which is not "save the hair" but, as I understand it, accelerate the hair growth cycle
- willcipriano 2y agoWorks fine if you use it prior to going bald. I started in my early 20's and my hair is the same as when I started. It also works on beards.
- michaelscott 2y agoTrue, I started as I began thinning and luckily caught it early enough. It hasn't solved the pre-existing thinning completely, but it's prevented any further loss and resurrected enough follicles that were on the verge of death that if you were to look at me on the street, you wouldn't say I'm thinning/balding. The problem with doing anything after "full" balding has progressed is that the follicles have just completely died off, which is way more difficult to solve than preserving or stimulating existing growth
- emeril 2y agoMaybe you're 100% right but I remember reading this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/health/minoxidil-hair-loss-pills.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/health/minoxidil-hair-los... It seems to suggest that oral minoxidil can be at least moderately effective I suspect the only reason we don't hear about this more is that the patent expired and most docs only know what is marketed to them by drug reps
- riahi 2y agoIt’s because oral minoxidil requires a ramp period and some people can become symptomatic. If you browse Reddit or other forum threads about it, look for a discussion on “sides”. There are several papers in the dermatology literature suggesting low dose oral minoxidil for hair loss. I think dermatologists or hair surgeons who do this every day will know the literature. The average pcp likely won’t unless asked.
- TheHumanist 2y agoYeah, that finding unfortunately killed any excitement I may have had for this lol I feel like saying Minoxidip is barely effective is almost even giving it too much credit.
- Seanambers 2y agoAs someone who started to loose his hair in the mid 20s and thinning until I buzzed it in my mid 30s. I will say that being bald sucks especially considering meeting people, sexual attraction and possibly your own perception of yourself. Having said that I don't think about it at all normally, but I'm not gonna pretend it doesn't matter. Loads of people take the 'high road' and say it doesn't matter but having hair is such an level up that its ridiculous. Maybe more now in a digital age with Snapchat, tiktok, youtube, tinder than before - looks have become way more important. Here's an example of balding vs hair and there are loads of such examples on the web; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72wf4NLglOY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72wf4NLglOY
- lofaszvanitt 2y agoBald means proper man.
- indigo0086 2y agoThe skinner from xfiles is peak manhood
- datavirtue 2y agoLmao. Had such a man crush on Mitch.
- apwell23 2y agoYea ppl saying "just accept it" don't know how much of a challenge it is to be bald. I started blading in my teens and considering getting hair transplant in my 40s since balding has mostly stabilized in the last decade. I am tired of being bald.
- yungporko 2y agooften they do and it's just copium because they're bald themselves. bald people hate the idea of other people saving their hair.
- 2y ago