The data supports previous studies showing that daily low dose oral minoxidil used to treat hair loss does not significantly affect blood pressure.

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, USA, November 14, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Androgenetic alopecia, also known as male or female pattern baldness, is the most common cause of hair loss, thought to impact between 50 and 80 million people in the United States (1). One of the newer treatment methods for this type of hair loss is oral minoxidil, a medication typically known for treating high blood pressure. Low-dose oral minoxidil has been shown to have no significant effect on blood pressure at 24 hours when taken by men with androgenetic alopecia. However, it is unclear if low-dose oral minoxidil impacts blood pressure in other populations and during prolonged use.

In a study in SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine^®, Natasha Mesinkovska, MD PhD and her co-authors conducted a review of electronic medical records at the University of California Irvine to see the change in blood pressure readings in patients from their baselines after 4 to 6 months of taking low-dose oral minoxidil (2). Their study found that even in patients with high blood pressure, different types of hair loss, older age, and increased doses of minoxidil, there was no association found with changes in systolic or diastolic blood pressure.

This study adds to the limited data available on low-dose oral minoxidil and supports the safety and efficacy of its off-label use at doses of 1.25 and 2.5 mg for hair loss. As low-dose oral minoxidil continues to be increasingly prescribed for hair loss, larger studies will be needed to better evaluate the long-term impact of this therapy on blood pressure, especially in different at-risk populations.

SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine^® is a peer-reviewed online medical journal that is the official journal of The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine. The mission of SKIN is to provide an enhanced and accelerated route to disseminate new dermatologic knowledge for all aspects of cutaneous disease.

For more details, please visit www.jofskin.org or contact jofskin@gmail.com.

1. https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/androgenetic-alopecia/#:~:text=Androgenetic%20alopecia%20affects%20an%20estimated,women%20in%20the%20United%20States.
2. Kincaid, C., Arnold, J., Phone, C., Park, M., Babadjouni, A., & Mesinkovska, N. (2023). Blood Pressure Monitoring for Minoxidil Therapy in Alopecia Patients. SKIN The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine, 7(6), 1123–1125. https://doi.org/10.25251/skin.7.6.6

Natasha A. Mesinkovska, MD, PhD
UC Irvine
natashadermatology@gmail.com
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