Following historical "tracks" of hair follicle miniaturisation in patterned hair loss: Are elastin bodies the forgotten aetiology?

Pattern hair loss (PHL) is a chronic regressive condition of the scalp, where follicular miniaturisation and decreased scalp hair coverage occurs in affected areas. In all PHL cases, there is a measurable progressive shortening of the terminal hair growth duration, along with reduced linear growth rates. In both genders, PHL initially shows an increase in short telogen hairs ≤30 mm in length, reflecting a cycle completion of under 6 months in affected terminal hair follicles.

Placebo-controlled dose-effect studies with topical minoxidil 2% or 5% in male-patterned hair loss treated with oral finasteride employing an analytical and exhaustive study protocol.

Background: Drug trials for male-pattern hair loss (MPHL) did not investigate hair cycling.

Materials And Methods: Male-pattern hair loss volunteers (n = 22) took oral finasteride 1 mg daily with randomly either MTS5% or control lotion (1 mL/d). After 12 months on oral drug, 14 were randomized for a dose-effect study of topical minoxidil 2% or 5%.