Hair Loss Articles

A Randomized Controlled, Single-Observer Blinded Study to Determine the Efficacy of Topical Minoxidil plus Microneedling versus Topical Minoxidil Alone in the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is most common form of hairloss in adults. Currently, minoxidil is the first-line treatment for AGA. Many adjuvant treatment modalities have been attempted with minoxidil.  Microneedling is considered one among such adjuvant treatments, which works by stimulating dermal papillary cells that play a role in hair growth.  It is believed that microneedling can release cellular growth factors and activate stem cells located around the hair bulge area.

 In this study, 68 men with androgenic alopecia, classified as Norwood-Hamilton grade III & IV, were randomly selected for either weekly microneedling with twice daily topical 5% minoxidil or only twice daily topical 5% minoxidil x 12 weeks. Baseline clinical and trichoscopy photos were compared at 12 weeks post-treatment. Hair count of one square inch area was also compared at 12 weeks. Efficacy was documented if there was an increased hair count from baseline at 12 weeks and by patient self-assessment of hair growth at 12 weeks.

Results: The mean increase in hair count in the targeted area of one square inch at the end of the treatment was significantly greater for the combination treatment group (12.52/inch2) compared to that for the minoxidil alone group (1.89/inch2). But when assessing patient satisfaction, the cosmetic results were not significant. Only 4 patients in the "microneedling plus topical minoxidil" group reported a 50% improvement versus none in the "minoxidil alone" group.  This could be possibly because of the low sample size and limited duration of the study.  Microneedling may be a promising therapeutic modality for the treatment of AGA along with topical minoxidil, but further studies with longer follow up assessments are needed. To read the full article, click Alopecia and Microneedling