New trial hopes to make baldness 'perfectly optional'

Australian researchers are searching for 150 volunteers for the final phase of a clinical trial investigating whether a re-purposed blood pressure medication could be used to treat baldness. 

Minoxidil was originally used to treat high blood pressure, but a side effect was stimulation of hair growth.

Topical solutions such as Rogaine were developed, but dermatologist Professor Rodney Sinclair has found greater success with a tablet he developed which is dissolved under the tongue.

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"If we can get this through the regulatory pathways and make it available in pharmacies, it may well be that baldness becomes something that is perfectly optional," he said.

Andrea Demuru is participating in Sinclair's trial. 

"I started purchasing products, shampoos and tablets and everything I could get my hands on," he said. 

"The only thing that many people end up doing is wasting a lot of money." 

Two phases of clinical trials have already been completed, and the final phase will involve rigorous measurement of hair growth and patient feedback. 

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"15 years of research where we've treated in our centre probably close to 30,000 patients with this medication in different doses, honing the technique, optimising it," Professor Sinclair said.

"We also have to measure whether the number of hairs we grow is actually meaningful to the patient, whether it shifts the dial in terms of how they look, how they feel about themselves and whether they can see that it's working," he added.

If the treatment receives regulatory approval, it is anticipated to be available on the market within two years.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.