Investigator-blinded, controlled, and randomized comparative study on 1565 nm non-ablative fractional laser versus 5% minoxidil for treatment of androgenetic alopecia

Abstract

Background: Characterized by progressive hair loss due to an excessive response to androgens, androgenetic alopecia (AGA) affects up to 50% of males and females. Minoxidil is one of approved medications for AGA but inadequate responses occur in many patients. Aims: To determine whether 1565 nm non-ablative fractional laser (NAFL) could yield better therapeutic benefits for patients with AGA as compared with 5% minoxidil. Methods: Thirty patients with AGA were enrolled; they were randomly assigned into the laser or minoxidil treatment groups. For the laser treatment group, patients were treated by 1565 nm NAFL at 10 mJ, 250 spots/cm2 with 2 weeks intervals for 4 sessions in total. For the minoxidil treatment group, 1-milliliter of topical 5% minoxidil solution was applied to hair loss area twice a day. Results: The primary outcomes were the changes in numerous hair growth indexes at the Week 10 as compared with the baselines. Both 1565 nm NAFL and 5% minoxidil led to significantly greater hair densities and diameters in patients at the Week 10 than the baselines (p < 0.01). As compared with 5% minoxidil, 1565 nm NAFL showed significantly greater improvements in total hair number, total hair density (hair/cm2), terminal hair number, terminal hair density (hair/cm2), number of hair follicle units, and average hair number/number of hair follicle units. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that 1565 nm NAFL exhibits superior clinical efficacy in some aspects of hair growth to the topical minoxidil. It is a safe and effective modality in treating AGA.