Would Gynecomastia Surgery Be Nullified By Propecia or Avodart?

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

Dr. Rassman, you alluded to a simple cure for gynecomastia. For those of us who are plagued by this condition, & are financially tight, would you please share what this cure is, & will the continuance of Propecia or Avodart nullify the surgical benefits? Thanks so much for a great Forum!!!

There are different surgeries that can successfully treat gynecomastia from a cosmetic point of view (removal of breast tissue or liposuction). The drugs Propecia or Avodart will not reverse or cure this problem and in very rare situations can produce it. I don’t know that these medications would nullify the surgery completely or at all.

Tags: propecia, avodart, dutasteride, finasteride, gynecomastia

Will We Ever Be Able To Use Other Organ Donors for Hair Transplantation?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Immunosuppressive drugsI have been asked the question posed in the title of the post many times, and each and every time I answered it on this site, I was emphatic that this could not be done because of the problems that we see in kidneys, livers, and hearts when they are transplanted (i.e. they get rejected by the body). Now, the possibility that this may not be the case was raised by Dr. Sharon Keene after she read this article in the LA Times about a small pilot study which may lead to the elimination of taking anti-rejection medication for life following organ transplants — Study suggests breakthrough in organ transplants.

Japanese doctors tried homografts and allografts of scalp hair back in 1928 and again in 1938. They left detailed descriptions of the results. The growth rate was zero percent; however, we have learned much about transplanting organs since then and maybe we can apply what we learned to allow for a better outcome.

Of course, I am not saying that my answer has changed, but who knows for sure what could happen. Successful transplants have been done between different people, in baby hearts under a year of age and in face transplants where the anti-rejection medications can be far less and possibly stopped, but the experience is still very sketchy, as not many face transplants have been done to really know what it takes to sustain such a transplant without anti-rejection drugs.

There are also ethical considerations and medical-legal ones imposed on doctors who think that they could experiment on people without legal ramifications. When I was in medical school our most famous surgeon was Dr. David Hume, who made his reputation in Boston at the Brigham hospital doing a kidney transplant from one twin to another in the wee hours of the night without the permission or knowledge of the medical staff. It worked and he became a hero, but had it not worked, he would have become vilified and this act could have ended his career. With stem cell progress and some of the tricks outlined below, who knows what the future holds; however, I have long believed that the really important problems we, as doctors, will be allowed to treat, will not initially be for the vanity of perfectly healthy men who are balding.

Tags: organ transplant, hair transplant, surgery

Does Your Weight Determine the Amount of Finasteride You Should Take?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Hi,

I’m curious about Propecia dosage. From reading various forums it seems as if doses from .25mg all the way up to well over 1mg of Finasteride are being taken. I am 25 years old, but am very short and underweight. Is it reasonable for me to consider taking say .5mg a day? My question is, does your weight etc. affect the amount of Finasteride you should be taking?

Many thanks.

The data is not available that relates your weight to the dose required in using Propecia (1mg finasteride) effectively. From early finasteride research in the use of this drug for treating hair loss, it was determined 1mg was the best dose for the effect that was the target of the study. At half the dose (0.5mg) finasteride was reported to be 80% as effective as the 1mg dose. At 0.25mg, the effectiveness of finasteride was reported at about 50%. This is all I know about dose and response.

Tags: finasteride, propecia, hairloss, hair loss

7 Months After My Transplant, I Have Tiny Baby Hair Growing

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

Hello,

Thank you for wonderful blog. I had my hair transplant done in September last year. It has been 7 months now. After shedding I had new hair but they are all tiny baby hair and they are not growing at all. I can only feel them by touching my scalp and they are not visible. They are really really tiny. I was not prescribed any medication after transplant and had none complications as well. They new hair are of same tiny size as they were 2 months ago. I followed everything told by my surgeon religiously.

My Surgeon is not in this country and I have spoken to him over the phone. He told me it never happened to any of his other patients and I should see him on my next trip which is in October. Can you tell me what could be the problem?

By the 8th month, you should have 80% of the results of the transplant and approach 95% by the 10th month. Sounds like the transplant may have failed. I would be happy to see you and render a second opinion after the 10th month milestone has been reached.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hair transplant

Would Birth Control Pills Effect Baldness in Men?

/by William Rassman, M.D./2 /

This is a purely hypothetical question. Would a man taking female birth control pills have any effect on male pattern baldness? What would be the effects on DHT, Testosterone, and hair health. Thanks!

The following post is by UK-based physician Dr. Bessam Farjo:


Written by:
Dr Bessam Farjo, United Kingdom
Dr Bessam Farjo
United Kingdom

Female birth control or contraceptive pills are most often a combination of synthetic forms of the female hormones, estrogen and progesterone. With regards to effect on men’s hair you may get a decrease in facial and body hair in terms of thickness and growth, although male-pattern baldness may improve somewhat or at least stabilises in a similar vein to finasteride for example. We see this effect most commonly in our practice when dealing with male to female transgender patients who use similar hormones to achieve their transformation.

However, these medications may cause a number of adverse effects in men similar to those seen with the use of other female hormones. You may experience changes in the appearance and function sex organs. Risks may include erectile dysfunction, decreased libido and lowered sperm count. Some men may also develop gynecomastia (man boobs). There may be a negative effect of general body muscle mass. In addition, the bones may develop osteoporosis (brittleness). There are other potential general health side effects of course making this an unreasonable approach to control male pattern baldness.

—

Learn more about the author of this article, Dr. Bessam Farjo, on his BaldingBlog profile or at his website.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, birth control, hormones, farjo

Propecia is Working, But Things I’ve Read Have Me Worried

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

Dr. Rassman,

I am a patient of your who last saw you a few years ago regarding hair loss prevention. We decided the best course of action for me is to take Propecia and use Rogaine. I have since been taking Propecia and using Rogaine daily and so far, am pleased with the results and think that my hair loss isn’t progressing. I wanted to get your opinion because I have recently read articles which discussed sexual dysfunction as a result from taking Propecia. Even more recently, the FDA issued a warning with regard to this issue. Do you know anything about this and can you provide any insight? Also, would you recommend continuing usage? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

You should be aware of these alerts, which is why we post about them here; however, the risks are very low and sexual side effects are rare (2%). If you have not had them, it should not be a problem… and if you are young and considering having children, you should see your doctor and get a sperm count to be sure that this problem is not impacting you.

As I’ve said before, one of my sons is taking Propecia, and it is working very well. I have not advised him to stop it when he recently asked me about it.

Tags: propecia, finasteride, hairloss, hair loss

Ultherapy?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

What does Ultherapy do to hair follicles?

I am very curious what effect the FDA approved Ultherapy has on the follicles at the frontal hair line. Ultherapy is said to stimulate collagen in the deep layers of the skin.

Can this procedure possibly hurt follicles, invigorate them or just not affect them at all?

i would very much appreciate your opinion on this. Thanks!

I hadn’t heard of Ultherapy before, but it appears to be a skin tightening / lifting procedure. After reading that the FDA approved the technology, that must mean that it is safe and effective, but I am not sure what that means from a practical point of view. It appears that the focus is on collagen changes and stimulation, but again I am not sure what that means either. They do not say it helps grow hair, just that it heats up the deeper level of the skin where the collagen is.

Tags: ultherapy, hairloss, hair loss, hairline

Green Tea and DHT

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

My question regards green tea. We all know – or should know by now – that green tea is packed with great nutrients and health benefits, but how about hair loss. It’s hard to find a proper answer. Some sources say it reduces DHT, some say it increases it. What’s your view? Many, many thanks, it’d be great to enjoy my cup of green tea again without worrying.

We’ve answered a similar question before — here.

In my opinion, green tea doesn’t cause or prevent hair loss. I am sure if you do enough research on the web you will find conflicting reports on almost anything. You can continue enjoying your cup of green tea.

Tags: green tea, dht, hairloss, hair loss