Table 1.
Summary of Major Studies for AGA Treatments
| Topical Minoxidil | Experimental Design | Number of Patients | Experimental Groups | Results | Adverse Effects |
| Olsen et al18 | 48 week double blinded, placebo controlled | 393 men with AGA |
Group 1: 5% topical minoxidil BID (157 patients) Group 2: 2% topical minoxidil BID (158 patients) Group 3: Placebo (78 Patients) |
Earlier treatment response in Group 1 Group 1 increased nonvellus hair count compared to Group 2 |
Application site dermatitis, pruritis, headache most common in Group 1 (6% of patients) compared to Group 2 (2% of patients) |
| Goren et al21 | 6 month prospective study | 15 patients with AGA | All patients received topical 5% minoxidil BID | Sulfotransferase assay predicted responders to 5% topical minoxidil Sensitivity was 100%, specificity was 71% |
None |
| Olsen et al23 | Cross over study | 31 male patients with AGA | All patients received topical 3% minoxidil BID for 5 years | Hair growth peaked at 1 year Mean vellus hairs decreased at 4 and 5 years (p=0.012) 9 patients reported increase in mean vellus hairs greater at 5 years than at 1 year |
Abrupt discontinuation of minoxidil resulted in hair loss back to baseline |
| Lucky et al19 | 48-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial | 381 women with AGA |
Group 1: Topical 5% minoxidil solution BID(n=153) Group 2: 2% topical minoxidil solution BID(n=154) Group 3: Topical Placebo BID (n=74) |
Group 1 demonstrated a statistically significant (p=0.031) increase in non-vellus hair count compared to Group 2 at 48 weeks | Pruritis, dermatitis, hypertrichosis were most prevalent in Group 1 (14% of patients) compared to Group 2 (6% of patients) |
| LLLT | Experimental Design | Number of Patients | Experimental Groups | Results | Adverse Effects |
| Munck et al26 | Retrospective observational study | 32 patients with AGA | 6 patients received monotherapy with Hairmax Laser Comb (655nm) 3 times weekly for 8–15mins for 24 months 26 patients received combined therapy with LLLT and topical 5% minoxidil or oral finasteride |
86% of monotherapy patients showed moderate to significant improvement 85% of combined therapy showed moderate to significant improvement |
No adverse reported |
| Qiu et al27 | Prospective study | 1383 patients with AGA |
Group 1: LLLT monotherapy for 38–40 weeks Group 2: LLLT with minoxidil for 38–40 weeks Group 3: LLLT with finasteride for 38–40 weeks |
Overall clinical effectiveness was 80% Combined therapy reduced oil secretion, improved hair diameter, and hair density better than monotherapy |
No adverse reported |
| PRP | Experimental Design | Number of Patients | Experimental Groups | Results | Adverse Effects |
| Gkini et al28 | Prospective Cohort Study | 20 patients with AGA |
PRP preparation: 20 Single Spin with activation 20 patients received 3 treatment sessions every 21 days with a booster session at 6 months |
Hair loss stopped at 3 months Hair density peaked at 3 months(p<0.001) Hair regrowth was statistically significant at 6 months(p<0.001) and 1 year (p<0.001) compared to baseline |
25% of patients felt mild pain which subsided after 4 hours 60% of patients had scalp sensitivity |
| Singhal et al29 | Randomized controlled study | 20 patients with AGA |
PRP Preparation: two-spin method with an activator Group 1: 10 patients received 8–12 cc of PRP every 2 weeks for 4 total sessions Group 2: 10 patients received no PRP |
After 3 months, all patients demonstrated increases in hair growth, hair thickness, and hair root strength | 3 patients had mild headache after procedure |
| Verma et al30 | Prospective Randomized controlled study | 40 patients with AGA |
PRP Preparation: Double Spin with an activator Group 1: 20 patients received monthly PRP injections for 4 months Group 2: 20 patients received topical 5% minoxidil for 4 months |
Group A demonstrated better regrowth on global photography compared to Group B Hair pull test was improved in both groups with no statistically significant difference between groups |
Pain at injection site causing 4 patients to drop out of study Mild scaling of scalp in Group B |
| Microneedling | Experimental Design | Number of Patients | Experimental Groups | Results | Adverse Effects |
| Dhurat et al31 | Randomized single blinded | 100 patients with AGA |
Group 1: Weekly microneedling with 5% topical minoxidil for 12 weeks Group 2: Topical 5% minoxidil for 12 weeks |
Group 1 demonstrated statistically significant increase in hair count compared to Group 2 (p=0.039) | No adverse effects reported |
| Starace et al32 | Open label non randomized pilot study | 50 patients with AGA | All patients received 3 treatments of microneedling over 4 months in addition to topical or systemic AGA therapy | Hair pull tests improved in all patients 7 patients demonstrated significant improvement in hair growth |
Scalp pain during microneedling with mild erythema |