Latanoprost. A new treatment?.
By Dra. Florez
Latanoprost is a prostaglandin F2alfa analogue with a widespread use in the treatment of ocular hypertension. It is well known that latanoprost can provoke eyelash pigmentation and increase the thickness, length and number of the eyelashes.
On the contrary, very little is known about the effects latanoprost may have on scalp hair growth and pigmentation. In a recent issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Dr. Blume-Peytavi and collaborators published an original study focusing on the efficacy of latanoprost on scalp hair growth and pigmentation.
Blume-Peytavi U, Lönnfors S, Hillmann K, Bartels NG.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011 Aug 27. PMID: 21875758
The authors performed a mono-center, double-blind, randomized study, enrolling 16 men suffering from mild androgenetic alopecia (AA) (Hamilton II-III). During 24 weeks the patients applied a daily drop of latanoprost 0.1% solution on an investigational mini-zone, and placebo on the control symmetric location.
At the end of the study hair density at the latanoprost-treated site was significantly higher when compared with both placebo and baseline. Tolerance was good, although erythema was observed in 5 subjects.
These promising effectsmake this article a very interesting one, due to its potential future implications in the management of alopecia, a very frequent disorder. Of course, this is a pilot study that has only included 16 young men with early-stage AA, and therefore further studies are needed to confirm these results.