BucketCrab
If you can't climb out, drag others down.
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- Dec 25, 2021
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It is common knowledge that Male Pattern Baldness is stopped or reversed only by finasteride, and minoxidil mainly just offers re-growth.
Yet, I see hundreds of videos and posts which show how some people have reversed the first sign of male pattern baldness simply by using minoxidil; something doesn't add up here, does it?
Although I know there are also countless cases of people who found out minoxidil was either completely ineffective (roughly 15% of people don't get any benefits) or didn't slow/stop their balding (this is the case for more aggressive balders), it's still puzzling how a medication that is only supposed to increase bloodflow can actually reverse a genetic condition.
So what gives?
This 2014 chinese study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4039155/ seems to shed some light on this.
AGA is closely associated with androgen-AR pathway activity. Previous studies using a golden Syrian hamster model found no anti-androgenic potential of minoxidil on androgen-dependent cutaneous structures [19]. However, female animals were used in these studies, and testosterone, which can be converted to estradiol in hair follicles [40], rather than DHT was chosen.
...minoxidil interferes with AR-related functions, decreasing AR transcriptional activity, reducing expression of targets at the protein level, and suppressing AR-positive LNCaP cell growth. Furthermore, our mechanistic studies showed that the suppressive effect of minoxidil on AR-related functions reflected its ability to directly bind to the AR; interfere with AR-peptide, AR-coregulator and AR N-C interactions; and reduce AR protein stability.
But that's not all; it appears this specific trait of minoxidil may also prove beneficial in fighting prostate cancer:
Minoxidil may directly bind to the AR and suppress AR-related functions, including androgen-sensitive LNCaP cell growth. These data may suggest the potential of minoxidil in the treatment of prostate cancer.
What do you guys think? Did you know about this study?
Yet, I see hundreds of videos and posts which show how some people have reversed the first sign of male pattern baldness simply by using minoxidil; something doesn't add up here, does it?
Although I know there are also countless cases of people who found out minoxidil was either completely ineffective (roughly 15% of people don't get any benefits) or didn't slow/stop their balding (this is the case for more aggressive balders), it's still puzzling how a medication that is only supposed to increase bloodflow can actually reverse a genetic condition.
So what gives?
This 2014 chinese study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4039155/ seems to shed some light on this.
AGA is closely associated with androgen-AR pathway activity. Previous studies using a golden Syrian hamster model found no anti-androgenic potential of minoxidil on androgen-dependent cutaneous structures [19]. However, female animals were used in these studies, and testosterone, which can be converted to estradiol in hair follicles [40], rather than DHT was chosen.
...minoxidil interferes with AR-related functions, decreasing AR transcriptional activity, reducing expression of targets at the protein level, and suppressing AR-positive LNCaP cell growth. Furthermore, our mechanistic studies showed that the suppressive effect of minoxidil on AR-related functions reflected its ability to directly bind to the AR; interfere with AR-peptide, AR-coregulator and AR N-C interactions; and reduce AR protein stability.
But that's not all; it appears this specific trait of minoxidil may also prove beneficial in fighting prostate cancer:
Minoxidil may directly bind to the AR and suppress AR-related functions, including androgen-sensitive LNCaP cell growth. These data may suggest the potential of minoxidil in the treatment of prostate cancer.
What do you guys think? Did you know about this study?
