Propecia & the Hormonal Lifespan of Male Pattern Hair Loss
The rollercoaster of testosterone and hair
At birth, every person has a certain amount of testosterone in his body. At puberty, when testosterone undergoes increased production, the change in hormone level grows facial hair and deepens the voice, as well as drives sperm production, sexual drive, and sexual performance. This is when the testosterone production reaches the top of the rollercoaster, and thus, most teenage males have heads filled with thick, full hair.
After this spike during the puberty and teenage years of testosterone, the hormone production begins its descent down from the rollercoaster top. For most men, the amount of testosterone in the body continues to decrease with age. Thus, as men become older, they lose more and more hair.
There are some men in their sixties who continue to have fairly high levels of testosterone, but there is no medical explanation for the difference in production levels; experts do believe that it is most likely genetic. It is this group of men with elevated levels of testosterone production that early Propecia research evaluated to find the optimum amount of hair based on age and health.
The cause of it all: pituitary gland
The culprit to blame in hair loss is the pituitary gland. It produces LH, which stimulates testosterone production. It also makes FSH, which triggers the growth and health of hair follicles in the scalp. Unfortunately, as men age, so do their pituitaries, which produce less and less of the needed hormones. The biological timeline for hair loss follows in several steps:
1. Levels of hormone production decreases.
2. Remaining testosterone is converted into DHT, an aging bio-marker.
3. DHT interacts with an enzyme in the scalp.
4. The interaction shrinks scalp follicles to such an extent that they no longer produce hairs.
Propecia to the rescue!
Propecia works on this primary cause of hair loss by reducing the amount of DHT in the scalp, allowing the follicles to enlarge and produce normal hair shafts. Results with Propecia can appear as quickly as three months, and most users of Propecia report both new hair growth and a slowing of hair loss within that time. Once begun, however, Propecia treatments must be continued, or any benefits derived will be lost.
Statistics show that 85% of men who began using Propecia before they noticed significant hair loss were able to maintain their original hair’s thickness. A full 66% achieved new growth using Propecia, even after hair loss had begun, and the new growth closely matched their original hair. Some men, who began using Propecia before they had lost a significant amount of hair, actually reported having more hair using Propecia than they had had before the loss started. Only 2% of men using Propecia reported side effects, primarily sexual, and – of those – the percentage decreased to .03% by the third year of treatment with Propecia. In fact, the primary reported side effect with Propecia was a rash. In rare instances, men reported testicular pain, or enlarging breasts.
Since hair loss is partly genetic, Propecia may not work as well for some men. If twelve months of continued Propecia use produces no significant benefits, it is very likely that genetic factors, rather than hormone imbalance, are causing hair loss. Propecia also affects the results of a certain test, called a PSA (prostate-specific antigen), which is used to determine the nature of prostate problems. If you are using Propecia, be sure to tell your physician before you have a PSA.