Prostate Cancer drug to treat female hair loss?

A recent study of 17 women, who were each suffering with female pattern hair loss, showed drug Bicalutamide may be a viable hair loss treatment for women. More than half of the study participants saw “significant” hair regrowth within a few weeks of starting the treatment.

The study was conducted by the Ramon y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid. The drug was taken by each women either every day or every other day for a minimum of 6 months. The results from this trial may now lead to an extended and larger study to better understand the potential of this drug treatment.

The treatment for prostate cancer works by preventing testosterone from reaching cancer cells. Testosterone drives the growth of prostate cancer, so preventing this from happening will limit the growth and potentially shrink it. Androgenetic Hair Loss is caused by a by-product of Testosterone, Dihydrotestosterone. Female pattern hair loss is most common in post-menopausal women when their estrogen levels naturally drop. This leads to their testosterone levels becoming more dominant and potentially leading to hair loss. It would seem from this study that the Bicalutamide drug is able to prevent testosterone from reaching the scalp, where the conversion to DHT would take place.

Hopefully further studies will take place over the course of the next 12-18 months that will shed further light on whether this could become a viable treatment for women suffering from genetic hair loss.