Any studies on which grows more?

[NedFlanders]

Was just wondering if there ever have been any studies on which actually grows more Propecia or Rogaine, or is there no way to do it since everyone reacts different to the drugs.

 

[Guest]

Rogaine grew more than Propecia. Bryan posted the results much but Rogaine grew twice as much hair than Propecia on average.

I think it was like this. These numbers are made up but I think the ratios are correct:

Propecia: 100 hairs per whatever(sq inch, sq cm, whatever the actual numbers are irrelevant)
Avodart: 150 hairs per whatever
Rogaine: 200 hairs per whatever

So I'm pretty sure Rogaine grew twice as much hair for the average person as Propecia did. Thus they are best when combined, and the same with Avodart and Rogaine.

We're talking averages here of course. Everyone reacts differently but averages still mean something.

 

[Bryan]

Was just wondering if there ever have been any studies on which actually grows more Propecia or Rogaine, or is there no way to do it since everyone reacts different to the drugs.

It depends on exactly what you mean by "grows more", since there are different ways of looking at that question. There have been at least a couple of studies that examined that issue from a global standpoint, like comparing before-and-after photos of the entire heads of test-subjects, and they give the edge to Propecia. That shouldn't be all that surprising, since Propecia obviously affects the ENTIRE SCALP, being a systemic drug, whereas Rogaine probably has a bit more of a "local" effect where it's actually applied.

On the other hand, studies measuring haircounts in a small, specific test-area (the typical "1-inch circle" that you see so often in studies like these) show a better average performance for minoxidil than finasteride. The same appears to hold true for hairweights, because Vera Price did a study with finasteride using exactly the same methods as the one she did for minoxidil that we've been discussing in another thread, and the minoxidil averaged a little higher hairweight than finasteride in the 1-inch test area.

Following is an old post of mine in which I compared haircounts from various topical minoxidil studies with those from finasteride and dutasteride studies:

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For quite some time now, I've been telling people that from my reading of various topical minoxidil studies and finasteride studies, it appears that minoxidil is more effective at stimulating regrowth than finasteride; an obvious question nowadays would be: where does the very long-awaited dutasteride fit into the grand scheme of things? We have some good data from the dutasteride phase II trial, so does it finally surpass what Rogaine can do? I decided to look at the data from every topical minoxidil study in my collection and make an objective comparison! Since the only reported data in the dutasteride trial were the hair-counts, I could only use minoxidil studies that also reported hair-counts, to get any kind of meaningful comparison; and there are exactly six of them in my collection.

I've given the full citations to the studies at the very end of this post, in case anyone wants to double-check my figures and computations. As I'm reporting the numbers for each one, I'll just refer to them as (1) through (6)...again, you can check at the end to see the full reference. The minoxidil studies lasted for varying lengths of time like 4 months, 6 months, and 12 months, while the Glaxo finasteride and dutasteride trial lasted only for six months; to compensate for that, I've specified the actual length of each individual trial, and then calculated the hair-count increase PER MONTH, for fairness. Also, all hair-counts are standardized to the familiar 1-inch circular test spot on the scalp. Ok...all set? Here we go:

(The Glaxo trial of finasteride and dutasteride)

Finasteride... +72 hairs, six months (12.0 hairs/month)
Dutasteride... +108 hairs, six months (18.0 hairs/month)


(All the following are the topical minoxidil studies)

(1) 2% minoxidil... +425 hairs, 12 months (35.4 hairs/month)
Also: 3% minoxidil... +372 hairs, 12 months (31.0 hairs/month)

(2) 2% minoxidil... +273.4 NONVELLUS hairs, 12 months (22.8 hairs/month)

(3) 2% minoxidil... +101 TERMINAL hairs, 13 months (7.8 terminal hairs/month)

(4) 1% minoxidil... +149 hairs, 6 months (24.8 hairs/month)
Also: 2% minoxidil... +175 hairs, 6 months (29.2 hairs/month)

(5) 2% minoxidil... +233.8 hairs, 12 months (19.5 hairs/month)

(6) 2% minoxidil... +151 hairs, 4 months (37.8 hairs/month)
Also: 2% minoxidil... +324 hairs, 12 months (27 hairs/month)
Also: 3% minoxidil... +166 hairs, 4 months (41.5 hairs/month)
Also: 3% minoxidil... +338 hairs, 12 months (28.2 hairs/month)


There you have all the data! Averaging all the topical minoxidil data shows an average hair-count increase of +25.1 hairs per month (for that study #6, I'm using just the 12-month data), whereas dutasteride only managed a hair-count increase of +18.0 hairs per month! Finasteride brings up the rear at only +12.0 hairs per month! Summarizing the data is very simple and elegant: dutasteride generates about 50% more regrowth than finasteride (we've been saying that for a long time), and topical minoxidil generates about 50% more regrowth than dutasteride, according to all these studies! And here's a small but important detail: the minoxidil hair-counts are actually a little UNDERestimated, because the numbers reported for studies #2 and #3 were for nonvellus and terminal hairs, respectively. Factoring in TOTAL hair-counts (which weren't reported in those two studies) would make regrowth from topical minoxidil even more impressive.

Bottom line: as I've been saying for a long time, dutasteride is a fine new addition to our weaponry, but it should be considered a potent agent to inhibit the balding process itself, and not really something that's going to stimulate a lot of extra regrowth. For that, you'll have to use a complete program that addresses all the known angles that we've been talking about, like minoxidil, SODs, etc. By no means is dutasteride all by itself any kind of ultimate "cure" for balding; at least, not if any serious regrowth is one of your goals. But if all you need to do is maintain, then it should be an outstanding new drug for you, even by itself.

Bryan


(1) "Topical Minoxidil in Early Androgenetic Alopecia", Kreindler et al, J Am Acad Dermatol 1987;16:718-24.

(2) "Five-Year Follow-Up of Men With Androgenetic Alopecia Treated With Topical Minoxidil", Olsen et al, J Am Acad Dermatol 1990;22:643-6.

(3) "Duration of Minoxidil Therapy to Yield Maximum Benefit", [Letter] Rietschel et al, Arch Dermatol 1988;124:1569-70.

(4) "Dose-Response Study of Topical Minoxidil in Male Pattern Baldness", Olsen et al, J Am Acad Dermatol 15:30-37, 1986.

(5) "Topical Minoxidil Therapy for Androgenetic Alopecia", Koperski et al, Arch Dermatol 1987;123:1483-1487.

(6) "Topical Minoxidil in Early Male Pattern Baldness", Olsen et al, J Am Acad Dermatol 13:185-192, 1985.

 

[NedFlanders]

Definitely answers the question, thanks.