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How
can diazoxide be used to treat baldness
Diazoxide is the generic name for the drug in several products
such as Hyperstat (Schering) which is normally used for injection,
Proglycem capsules (Baker Norton), and Proglycem suspension (Baker
Norton) both used for systemic application by mouth. It is a prescription
drug used to treat people with hypoglycemia, especially those people
who have a malignancy in their pancreas, and it works by blocking
the release of insulin from the pancreas. It is a non diuretic benzothiadiazine
derivative (whatever that means) and a potassium channel opener.
In trials of diazoxide for hypoglycemia it was noted that diazoxide
sometimes had a hair growth promoting side effect. Based on this
accidental discovery hair growth research was conducted at Wayne
State University, Ann Arbor to examine the potential of this drug
for androgenetic alopecia. The researchers have indicated that topically
applied drug solutions stimulated hair growth in preliminary studies.
One published study involved 19 men with androgenetic alopecia using
a topical application of 3% Diazoxide twice per day. 63% of users
had some form of hair growth of these 4 individuals had extensive
hair regrowth according to the investigators. In vitro studies also
suggest that diazoxide can have a direct cell proliferation promoting
effect.
How
can diazoxide be used to treat baldness references
- Harmon
CS, Lutz D, Ducote J. Potassium channel openers stimulate DNA
synthesis in mouse epidermal keratinocyte and whole hair follicle
cultures. Skin Pharmacol. 1993;6(3):170-8.
- Buhl
AE, Waldon DJ, Conrad SJ, Mulholland MJ, Shull KL, Kubicek MF,
Johnson GA, Brunden MN, Stefanski KJ, Stehle RG, et al.Potassium
channel conductance: a mechanism affecting hair growth both in
vitro and in vivo. J Invest Dermatol. 1992 Mar;98(3):315-9.
- Uno
H, Kemnitz JW, Cappas A, Adachi K, Sakuma A, Kamoda H. The effects
of topical diazoxide on hair follicular growth and physiology
of the stumptailed macaque. J Dermatol Sci. 1990 May;1(3):183-94.
- Wei CT, Wong CK, Hashimoto K. A clinical
trial of 3% diazoxide solution for androgenetic alopecia. Dermatologica
Sinica 1989; 7: 209-212.
- Morris AI, Montuschi E. Letter: Growth
of head hair during treatment with diazoxide. Lancet. 1975 Jun
21;1(7921):1384.
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