MICHAEL REED, MD: The medical treatment options
have never been better, and I think we have the first generation of young
men who don't have to go bald without a real fight along the way, and we
can slow it down. We can arrest it and even reverse it in some of
these young men. There's topical and there's oral medication that
are both even FDA approved to help baldness. Topically there is topical
minoxidil, which is available over the counter in a 2 and 5% concentration
under the name Rogaine.
DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Let's talk about how that one
works before we move on.
MICHAEL REED, MD: It's still up in the air as to
the exact mechanism. It used to be thought that it worked by increasing
blood flow to the hair root, giving it a hypernutrition or hyperoxygenation
to keep it in the growing phase longer. Now we believe maybe it's
a direct effect on the hair root itself, keeping the cells dividing and
preventing them from resting. But regardless of which it is, it does
keep the hair in the growing phase. It keeps them from resting so
it doesn't fall out, so the root gets larger, deeper and it makes a finer
product, which is the hair shaft, ergo, more hair on the head.
DAVID R. MARKS, MD: The other medical treatment
may work even better. What is it?
