
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 10, 1992                   TAG: 9203100281
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PAULA MONAREZ
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

FDA APPROVES HAIR-LOSS DRUG LOTION FOR WOMEN

When Carmen Amarillas saw the commercials for Rogaine, the prescribed drug for hair loss for men, she never imagined that one day she would be using it or that it would work better for women.

Almost two months ago, the 34-year-old began applying the white lotion twice a day to her thinning hair.

"I had heard men were using it, but I didn't know women could," she said. "Of course, I also didn't realize women had the same problem."

Baldness - not just a male problem - affects about one out of every five women, according to dermatologists.

And now help may be on the way for some of these women. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use Rogaine, a 2 percent solution of the drug minoxidil, for women. Minoxidil was originally a drug for reducing high blood pressure.

The hair restorer, approved by the FDA for men in 1988, is the only product the government agency has approved for stimulating hair growth. It is prescribed by doctors and made by the Upjohn Co.

FDA waited to approve it women until more testing was done on them, said Eva Kemper, FDA spokeswoman.

"It seems to work better on women than it does on men," said Allan Wirtzer, a dermatologist.

Laura Harwin, spokeswoman for Upjohn, said comparisons can't be made because hair loss is different for men and women.

Androgenetic alopecia, hereditary baldness, is passed on through the mother. The hair loss in men is a bald spot or receding hairline. For women, it causes them to lose their hair over the entire head.

"But it is much milder and never leads to total hair loss that is seen in the most extreme cases of male balding," Wirtzer said.

Amarillas said since she began using it, she has noticed a decrease in the amount of hair falling out.

Wirtzer said patients usually begin to see a difference after three or four months of use.

The drug costs about $50 to $60 a month and must be applied twice a day.

Daniel Gross, president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, said the only drawback to using Rogaine is that it is a medication for life.

"Or you will lose whatever you have grown back," he said.

by CNB