Minox Mechanism possibly revealed

[Samiam]

Minoxidil activates β-catenin pathway in human dermal papilla cells: A possible explanation for its anagen prolongation effect
Mi Hee Kwack, Bo Mi Kang, Moon Kyu Kim, Jung Chul Kim, Young Kwan Sung ,


Purchase
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 700-422, Republic of Korea
Received 28 October 2010; revised 13 January 2011; Accepted 31 January 2011. Available online 9 February 2011.

Abstract
Background
It is believed that the length of the actively growing phase of the anagen hair cycle mainly contributes to hair length. Recent studies showed that maintenance of β-catenin activity in the dermal papilla cells (DPCs) enables hair follicles to keep actively growing. Topical minoxidil treatment promotes hair growth in men with androgenetic alopecia, suggesting that minoxidil may prolong the actively growing phase of the anagen hair cycle.

Objective
To investigate whether minoxidil prolongs the anagen hair cycle in mice and, if so, to investigate whether minoxidil activates β-catenin pathway in human DPCs.

Methods
Dorsal skins of C57BL/6 mice were depilated to synchronize the hair cycle. After 10 days, 3% minoxidil were topically applied daily for 10 days. Sections of back skins were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Hair follicles were graded and hair cycle score (HCS) was calculated. Cultured human DPCs were transiently transfected with the β-catenin responsive TCF reporter plasmid (pTopflash) and corresponding negative control reporter (pFopflash) to assess the activity of β-catenin signaling by minoxidil. Immunofluorescence staining and immunoblot were performed to examine the expression and localization of β-catenin in the presence or absence of minoxidil. Phosphorylation of GSK3β, PKA and PKB were also examined by immunoblot after minoxidil treatment. RT-PCR analysis and immunoblot were employed to investigate the expression of β-catenin pathway targets in DPCs, such as Axin2, Lef-1, and EP2.

Results
Modest extension of anagen phase thereby delay of catagen progression was observed by application of minoxidil in mice. Minoxidil stimulated the transcriptional activity of pTopflash but not pFopflash. Nuclear accumulation of β-catenin was also observed after minoxidil treatment. Immunoblot further showed that minoxidil treatment increases the phosphorylation of GSK3β, PKA and PKB. Moreover, minoxidil induced Axin2, Lef-1, and EP2 expression.

Conclusion
Our results strongly suggest that minoxidil extends the anagen phase by activating β-catenin activity in the DPCs.

Keywords: Minoxidil; β-Catenin; Dermal papilla cell; Anagen; Hair growth




That was a study done, I can post the link if anyone needs it

[Samiam]

So if the above study is true, which it obviously is, does that mean that long term effects of minox would be bad?? If you're putting your follicles into an extended anagen phase, would they eventually tire out and die?

[Tracy C]

The study you are describing was done on mice. Mice do not go bald.

You are reaching. You do not need to do that. Stop over thinking and worrying about it. All this stress you are creating for yourself can cause your hair to fall out.

You need a hobby. Playing a musical instrument is a great hobby to have.

[Samiam]

Lol I dropped all my hobbies after I thought my hair was thinning, but you're right.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

Man, I used to love to play guitar before I started losing my hair. Now I look at all my favorite musicians with full heads of long hair, then I look at myself going bald, and I get unbelievably depressed.

[Tracy C]

My hair loss sent me into a deep depression that lasted over ten years. Don't let that happen to you. Do the things you love to do. Start treating your hair loss if you haven't already done so. Find yourself a competent and caring doctor to help you if you haven't already done so. But most importantly, do the things you love to do.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

Thanks for the advice and show of compassion, Tracy. Problem is that ever since I started losing my hair, I don't enjoy the things that I used to enjoy anymore. When I had a full head of long hair, I used to long to rock out on guitar. People used to say I looked like Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue or other 80s metal musicians. It's just that all of my 80s metal musicians (and my friends in local bands) mostly have full heads of hair and I don't anymore. And the look goes along with the music that I like to play. I mean, imagine Kiss at the start of their career with bald heads. The depression I'm suffering is just unreal. I've been punching holes in my closet, I'm always pissed off, and I'm no fun to be around so a lot of my friends have stopped calling me. It just seems so unfair that God would let this misery happen to so many people, most of whom did nothing to deserve it. Yeah, I've started "treating" the problem already, but the problem is that we have such crappy options to treat hair loss. Propecia may slow down hair loss but that's about it, and minoxidil is an absolute joke. Man, if we had more effective treatments, I'd be all over them, no matter how much they cost.

[VictimOfDHT]

Thanks for the advice and show of compassion, Tracy. Problem is that ever since I started losing my hair, I don't enjoy the things that I used to enjoy anymore. When I had a full head of long hair, I used to long to rock out on guitar. People used to say I looked like Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue or other 80s metal musicians. It's just that all of my 80s metal musicians (and my friends in local bands) mostly have full heads of hair and I don't anymore. And the look goes along with the music that I like to play. I mean, imagine Kiss at the start of their career with bald heads. The depression I'm suffering is just unreal. I've been punching holes in my closet, I'm always pissed off, and I'm no fun to be around so a lot of my friends have stopped calling me. It just seems so unfair that God would let this misery happen to so many people, most of whom did nothing to deserve it. Yeah, I've started "treating" the problem already, but the problem is that we have such crappy options to treat hair loss. Propecia may slow down hair loss but that's about it, and minoxidil is an absolute joke. Man, if we had more effective treatments, I'd be all over them, no matter how much they cost.

Same thing here. I've always wanted to learn how to play the keyboard/piano and just after my 5th or 6th lesson I had to stop as I was completely overwhelmed with anxiety/depression/sadness caused by the sudden loss of a lot of my transplanted hairs. Although this (my battle with this curse) has been an ongoing thing for a very long time I can say I have never felt as desperate as I am now. I have never felt this miserable. I have no desire to do anything at all and all I think about is my hair loss. I'm always angry too and I just wanna break everything around me. This is just ****ing plain torture. Seriously, what purpose does this curse serve other than making our lives beyond miserable.

[Follicle Death Row]

Sounds like a plausible mechanism. Minoxidil increases the anagen phase meaning more hairs will be in the anagen phase at the same time hence more hair on your head at any one time but no new hair. Miniturisation probably continues unabated so we'll still lose hair slowly but we'll always have more hairs in anagen than if we weren't using minoxidil. That would explain the initial 'results' in the first year and then the effect where we continue to lose after a year or 2 but are just offset by those couple of years. That's what I'm taking from everything I've read about it.

[Tracy C]

When I had a full head of long hair, I used to long to rock out on guitar.

Here's a thought... Joe Satriani is totally cue-ball bald, yet he totally rocks out on his guitar.

The depression I'm suffering is just unreal. I've been punching holes in my closet, I'm always pissed off, and I'm no fun to be around so a lot of my friends have stopped calling me.

I do get that. It was very traumatic for me. Though I never acted out violently about it. The depression was so deep that I Isolated myself from the rest of the world. I didn't want anyone to see me so I basically became a hermit. I stopped contact with my friends and I stopped doing things that I love to do. I only went out in public when I absolutely needed to. I now deeply regret that I allowed the depression to do that to me. I truly hope you can find your way past this. Stress and depression both only serve to make the hair loss worse.

Yeah, I've started "treating" the problem already, but the problem is that we have such crappy options to treat hair loss.

Not that long ago, the only options available for those suffering from hair loss were purchased at a wig shop.

I don't know how long you have been treating your hair loss. I also do not know what stage you were when you started treating it - or how long you were at that stage. Those two things matter more than folks realize. The longer the hair loss has been going on, the less the available treatments can do for you. This is why starting treatment as soon as you notice hair loss is so important. I also do not if you are working with the help of a doctor. I can tell you that I have been treating my hair loss for almost four years now - and that it takes a really long time. I have learned some things through my observations from these past four years.

The results of Minoxidil do get better over time. Those hair follicles did not miniaturize quickly, they did so slowly over time. Reversing the miniaturization does not happen quickly either. It happens slowly over time. You might know if Minoxidil will work for you within four or six months - but you won't know how well it works for you until you have been using it as directed for at least a full year. I also believe using Nizoral shampoo twice per week helps Minoxidil work better.

The first doctor I talked to about my hair loss was my primary care doctor. Back then the laser comb had just received FDA clearance so he suggested I give it a try. Though my patchy pattern did not match what the laser comb should work for, my skin type did, so I bought one and gave it a try. I've been using it ever since. I am not sure if the laser comb made any hair grow back - but it did make the hair that I still had look a lot better. It definitely became thicker and stronger and evened out some of the patchyness. It is also doing the same thing to the hair that Minoxidil is causing to grow back. If your hair loss pattern and skin type matches what the laser comb is supposed to work for, you might want to give it a try.

I did grow a lot of hair back from treatment - but it wasn't enough and it was still patchy. So I contacted a specialist and had hair transplant surgery. I look a whole lot better now - and I can wear my hair long again. It doesn't look as good as it did before hair loss ruined my life, but at least it looks nice enough now that I don't hide myself from the world any more.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

Hey guys, those are some very informative responses. VictimOfDHT, I'm always angry just like you say you are, and I want to break stuff all the time. This really is torture that I've never felt before. I've had plenty of shitty stuff happen to me in life, but none of that stuff even comes close to causing me the depression that I feel now that I'm losing my hair. Follicle Death Row and Tracy C: you guys mention minoxidil except there are so many downsides that I've heard other people describe when using it. They talk about the massive sheds that they experienced when starting out, and that sometimes those hairs that were shed didn't even grow back. And then if you stop it at any time, you could possibly lose even more hair than you gained. Also, plenty of people said that they used minoxidil and achieve no benefit whatsoever, kind of like the experience I had using it. It may promote the anagen phase, but I'd bet it's a very weak promoter. After all, minoxidil wasn't developed to treat hair loss, slight hair regrowth was just a side effect of the drug. So it really wasn't developed to achieve maximum hair regrowth whatsoever. Tracy C: your post was very insightful dude. I'm of course familiar with Joe "Satch" Satriani; just a phenomenal guitarist, one of the best out there. Except he didn't experience hair loss until later on in his career. If you look at his earlier albums like The Extremist (or his time spent with Alice Cooper in the early 90's), he still had a full head of hair. He started to experience hair loss later on, at an age when hair loss is far more common. So he still got to still fully savor his youth, which many who suffer from hair loss do not get to do. Haha, and I doubt I'll be the next Satriani either, I just play good enough to get by in bar bands. But I'll tell ya man, I just used to love busting out some old school Motley Crue and swingin' my long hair all over the place. That's why I can't listen to a lot of the 80s big-haired music that I used to love. The look went right along with the sound, and I used to love that I had that look. But now it's all being taken away from me in the worst possible way.
My mood now is like you say that yours was early on in your hair loss. I've stopped contact with certain friends, and others just stopped calling. I am no longer the outgoing and energetic guy that I used to be and I guess people don't want to be around an angry and depressed person. Anyway, I started treating my hair loss about a year after I really noticed it. I really should've started sooner but I just thought that hair loss was something that God would never let happen to me, especially since I thought He knew how devastating it would be for me. Boy was I wrong. Anyway, I started laser treatment (sitting under a high-powered laser for 30 min per week) at my friend's hair replacement clinic about 10 months after I noticed hair loss. That was just a waste of time. Incidentally, my friend who goes to this hair replacement clinic is a lead singer and could not handle the thought of being bald and being a singer so he has a wig. It's an OK wig I guess, some people think it's his real hair, others can spot it a mile away. But I'm thinking of trying the laser treatment again. If I can buy my own laser, then I can use it however often I want. What laser do you currently use?
In terms of hair transplant surgery, I'm scared to death of it. Mainly I'm scared of the permanent head scarring that it leaves. True that it should be well-covered by the existing hair that you have, but a scar is still a scar, and that's something that a person is going to have to deal with for the rest of their life. Plus, you almost need to be on Propecia to retain the native hair that you have around your transplanted hair, otherwise then you'll have a very patchy look. I'm also weight-lifter, and lifting has been one of the few things that has given me joy since I started losing my hair. And I believe that Propecia has been ****ing with my muscular structure, so I really don't wanna make a lifelong commitment to being on it.
As evidenced in my previous post, I'm just pissed off that we don't have nearly enough (and definitely not nearly effective) ways to regrow hair. Hair loss is so devastating and life-altering to so many people, yet virtually no one is looking to cure it. That really pisses me off more than anything.
Anyway, thanks guys for the informative and empathetic posts, I really appreciate it.