Dopamine and Hirsutism

hair follicle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dopamine is a novel, direct inducer of catagen in human scalp hair follicles in vitro – Langan – 2012 – British Journal of Dermatology – Wiley Online Library:

There are many reports of reversible hair loss following treatment with dopamine agonists like levodopa. This study provides evidence that dopamine promotes anagen to catagen conversion and has a negative effect on hair growth. Hence the authors tout dopaminergic agonists as the next big thing in hirsutism management.

Surprisingly the study does not mention the sample size and there is a statement that non-parametric tests were performed when the number was not big enough to ensure normal distribution. This makes me skeptical about the power of the study. The D2R conjuncture based on its murine homologue also needs experimental proof.

Treatment of unwanted facial hair in females (especially laser hair removal) is a multi-million dollar industry. The preliminary findings of this study may still be relevant in guiding research in this field in the right direction.