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Review
. 2019 Aug 9:13:2777-2786.
doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S214907. eCollection 2019.

Minoxidil and its use in hair disorders: a review

Poonkiat Suchonwanit  1 , Sasima Thammarucha  1 , Kanchana Leerunyakul  1
Affiliations
Review

Minoxidil and its use in hair disorders: a review

Poonkiat Suchonwanit et al. Drug Des Devel Ther. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Minoxidil was first introduced as an antihypertensive medication and the discovery of its common adverse event, hypertrichosis, led to the development of a topical formulation for promoting hair growth. To date, topical minoxidil is the mainstay treatment for androgenetic alopecia and is used as an off-label treatment for other hair loss conditions. Despite its widespread application, the exact mechanism of action of minoxidil is still not fully understood. In this article, we aim to review and update current information on the pharmacology, mechanism of action, clinical efficacy, and adverse events of topical minoxidil.

Keywords: alopecia; beard; eyebrow; hair loss; hair shaft disorders; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of minoxidil.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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