Hair Loss: Progesterone
(anti-androgen)

Background: Progesterone is a C-21 steroid hormone. It is one of the most important hormones manufactured by the female body. It is responsible for the health of virtually every cell and organ of the body.

Progesterone plays a major role in regulating the menstrual cycle in women. Since progesterone is a top level master hormone, it is used as a precursor for the production of other important hormones, such as estrogen and cortisone. Specifically, progesterone is the precursor of the mineralocorticoid aldosterone, and after conversion to 17-hydroxyprogesterone (another natural progestogen) of cortisol and androstenedione. Androstenedione can be converted to testosterone, estrone and estradiol.

Progesterone can be used as an anti-estrogen agent to correct abnormalities of the menstrual cycle. Progesterone is also used in conjunction with estrogen as a contraceptive. Progesterone is synonymous to corpus luteum hormone.

Topical progesterone has also been used in the treatment of hair loss. However, there has not been a lot of studies and research on the subject. It is unclear exactly what role does progesterone play in treating hair loss. There are already several products (topical lotion) in the market that incorporates progesterone as one of the main ingredients.

According to Dr. Klein, ""Progesterone is the chief inhibitor of an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. Progesterone inhibits the body from converting testosterone to di-hydrotestosterone (DHT) by binding to 5 alpha reductase; 5-AR is the enzyme that converts human serum to testosterone, then into DHT, which is the compound thought to be responsible for damaging hair follicles and an important factor in hair loss."

Vendors: Dr. Oscar Klein's Remox.

Clinical studies:

1) Dr. Norman Orentreich, in his article: "Biology of Scalp Hair Growth", Clinics in Plastic Surgery -- Vol. 9, No. 2, 1982:

"Local Therapy {...} Progesterone was found to be a natural and significant 5aR inhibitor when tested in vitro, in the human skin microsome system, a rich source of 5aR, and in human scalp hair follicles. When a solution of progesterone in alcohol was applied to the pubic skin of normal males, it caused an average decrease of 75.2 per cent in 5aR activity after 24 hours of treatment.

"Moreover, while less DHT is made, more dihydroprogesterone (DHP; 5a-pregnane-3,20dione) is made. DHP competes with the residual DHT for the cytosol-nuclear binding protein for a further reduction in the amount of DHT interacting with genetic material.

"Progesterone works in reducing DHT production locally by competing for the active site of 5aR and would need to be present at the active site continuously because of the reversible kinetics. Treatment lapses result in the resumption of DHT production from testosterone.

"Since progesterone only partially inhibits DHT production and since DHP only partially inhibits binding of residual DHT, local progesterone at best can only ameliorate androgenetic alopecia and not arrest it.

"Because more than 70 per cent of topically applied progesterone is metabolized in the skin to weak, nonandrogenic by-products, it can be used in women at the rate of 1 ml of a 2 per cent solution BID, whereas higher doses result in menstrual irregularities."

Forum discussions:

1) 7/23/06 discussion on progesterone.

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