Hair Growth Side Effect from Drugs

There is some literature about the association between minoxidil and upregulation of keratinocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in dermal tissues. Do you know if there are any groups looking at perhaps topical treatment with either of these growth factors? If not, what do you think about and therapeutic potential?

Also, there is some literature that suggests that topical cyclosporin induces hair growth. What about other topical immunomodulators like Protopic?

There are drugs that have been reported to grow hair as a side effect. In fact, that is how Propecia was discovered. The generic form of Propecia is known as finasteride. Finasteride was used for many years for the treatment of benign prostate enlargement. As a side effect, it grew hair on men. As such, the drugs and growth factors you cite may have had some press in growing hair, but there are trade-offs with risks and benefits and side effects associated with any drug use. Fortunately, Propecia was approved by the FDA and deemed safe with minimal side effects. The other drugs need rigorous testing and clinical trials before they can become clinically reliable. Besides dutasteride, I do not know of any drugs that are in development or undergoing FDA approval process for the treatment of hair loss.