Estudio comparativo de dos complementos alimenticios inhibidores de la 5a-reductasa en la alopecia androgénica femenina

Abstract

Comparative study controlled with placebo including three groups of 20 50-to-75-year- old postmenopausal women with female androgenetic alopecia (FAA) in stage I-II of the Ludwig scale. Treatments were assigned according to the previous randomization scheme: a 5α-reductase inhibitor food supplement with the combination of Pygeum africanum/Serenoa repens plant extracts at a dose of 100 mg each one + methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) at a dose of 500 mg; a 5α-reductase inhibitor food supplement with the combination of Pygeum africanum/Serenoa repens plant extracts at a dose of 50 mg each one; and placebo. Three visits were made throughout the study: baseline T0 visit at the inclusion in the study; visit T8 after 8 weeks of treatment; and visit T16 at 16 weeks of treatment. A treatment regi- men of 2 capsules per day was established in two doses, in the morning and at night. The main efficacy variables evaluated were: phototrichogram (total hair and hair in anagen phase), hair resistance to traction (pull test), clinical evaluation (erythema and pruritus). As secondary variables, the following ones were measured: tolerability and a subjective assessment of hair condition questionnaire. All the variables were evaluated at baseline (T0), and at 8 weeks (T8) and 16 weeks (T16) of treatment, except for the sub- jective evaluation that was only performed at visit T16. At 16 weeks of treatment, the comparative analysis shows that with the formulation Pygeum africanumat a dose of 100 mg/Serenoa repens at a dose of 100 mg + MSM at a dose of 500 mg several advantages are obtained over the formulation Pygeum africanum at a dose of 50 mg/Serenoa repens at a dose of 50 mg: a significant increase in the number oftotal hair; a greater increase in the proportion of hair in the patent anagen phase since the T8 visit, being 30% higher in the visit at 16 weeks; and a three times better improve- ment in the resistance of hair to traction. These findings show us that, in the comparative study, the contributions of the new for- mulation increasing the dose of its plant extracts from 50 mg to 100 mg and incorporat- ing the new MSM molecule at a dose of 500 mg, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, provides an additional beneficial effect, a «PLUS effect», which improves treat- ment effectiveness and contributes to a more integrated clinical approach to FAA.