Androgenetic alopecia and its remedies - a review

Abstract

Androgenetic alopecia commonly referred to as male and female pattern balding is the slow progressive loss of head hair in a discrete pattern, sometimes to the level of baldness. Androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata are common disorders of the hair follicle which may heavily influence self esteem and self image. Human hair morphogenesis is a dynamic process caused by the remodeling of the skin. Hair growth is cyclic process; in which the mammals consisting of three distinct stages: an active stage (anagen), a regressive stage (catagen), and a resting stage (telogen). Current drug treatment approaches include the use of regrowth stimulators such as topical minoxidil and oral finasteride for androgenetic alopecia. This paper will focus on diagnosis, pathophysiology, growth cycle and medical treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

Key words: Finasteride, Minoxidil, Baldness, Androgenetic alopecia.