Hair Restoration and Anti-Gray Hair Effects
by Topical Roxithromycin
T. Ito, N. Ito, N. Seo, H. Yagi, H. Hashizume
Masahiro Takigawa Dermatology, Hamamatsu University
School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan
There are still few effective topical substances for androgenetic alopecia (Androgenetic Alopecia). In this study, we found that roxithromycin (RXM) has anti-apoptotic and anti-gray hair effects on Androgenetic Alopecia in vitro, and indeed, clinically improved or prevented hair loss of Androgenetic Alopecia. RXM is a 14-member new macrolide antibiotic and has been extensively used for prevention and treatment of systemic and local infection. In addition, recent studies revealed RXM also has various modulatory bioactivities of many kinds of cells, such as Langerhans cells, keratinocytes and T cells. Human hair follicles, obtained from plastic surgery with informed consent, were cultured for 6 days. In the control group, hair elongation was 1.96 0.19 mm. On the other hand, it was 3.4 0.20 mm and 3.32 0.19 mm in 5 M RXM and 10 M RXM treated group, respectively in vitro. The groups treated with 5 M CLM (2.17 0.13 mm), 10 M (1.93 0.18 mm), 5 M EM (2.85 0.13 mm), 10 M EM (2.05 0.19 mm) showed no significant hair elongation compared with the control group. Next, 11 male individuals suffering from Androgenetic Alopecia topically applied 8 ml RXM at 0.5% in alcoholic solution once a day for 6 months with informed consent. Photographs were then scored, 4 patients apparently showed improvement of hair restoration, 4 patients were more than slight improvement, and 3 patients were no improvement. Topical RXM used under these conditions was safe without any local and systemic adverse effects. The beneficial effects of RXM seem to result from prevention of apoptosis of matrix cells and melanocytes in human hair follicles. RXM is a promising candidate for effective and safe treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia.
