LLLT Low-Level Laser Treatment device Double-Blind Trials
I have been following your blog avidly and I see that you are very doubtful about LLLT therapy.
I have two questions. First, somewhat recently two double-blind randomized control trials for LLLT have been published (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24474647, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25124964) and they provide some evidence that the treatment seems to work. These are company sponsored trials but they are published in (reputable?) journals. Have these articles in any way changed your opinion about LLLT efficacy?
Second, if someone is already on Propecia and Rogaine, do you think LLLT has sufficient evidence in favor of it that it might be worth their while as opposed to seeking no further treatment?
If you want to try LLLT, it is your prerogative and my opinions should not really matter. If you are trying to change my opinion on the LLLT, then I would really need to see the results first hand or read a well done study.
I have written about the studies you mention above in the past HERE, and HERE.
Propecia and Rogaine work in different ways. If someone wants to add LLLT to their treatment regimen, then it is up to them.
In one study alone, 45 of the patients were “lost to follow-up” which is code for a patient deciding to discontinue the study (the biggest reason is usually lack of efficacy). While the results are suggestive, the failure to include the obtained data from these patients as treatment failures (by a method known as last observation carried forward) is a major methodological flaw and one
reason the study – while peer-reviewed – was not published in a top journal. Because patients who participate in
studies often discontinue due to lack of efficacy, analyzing data from only those remaining introduces bias.