New Jersey doctor offers new kind of hair loss treatment. Here's how it works.
Hair loss can be traumatic and, unfortunately, extremely common. But a New Jersey doctor says he has a new treatment.
For about a year, East Brunswick dermatologist Dr. Sandy Milgraum has been offering dutasteride microinjections to fight hair loss. So far, he has treated about 100 patients with this procedure.
What is dutasteride and how can it be used to treat hair loss?
Dutasteride is a medication that's actually FDA-approved to treat an enlarged prostate.
"The way that it works is it blocks this hormone that's a normal hormone in men and women called DHT. Men have a higher level of it," Milgraum said. "That's the main driving force for causing prostate enlargement in men ... If you block that, the prostate shrinks down."
As Milgraum explains, that hormone, DHT, can also cause hair thinning.
Milgraum says patients normally start seeing hair after about a month.
"We have four terminal, or thick, hairs coming out of each hair follicle on your scalp. What happens over time is this DHT makes them miniaturize," he said.
Blocking the DHT helps hair thicken, he says.
The treatment is different for hair than enlarged prostates. It's a much lower dose and injected instead of taken orally. It also means doing fewer hair transplants for the doctor, who calls it an easier and less invasive option.
Side effects can include some stiffness or numbness around the area of injection, but Milgraum said that usually disappears after about 24 hours.
Who can get dutasteride microinjections for hair loss?
"The important thing is ... you really have to start it early," Milgraum said. "If someone is bald like I am, then the hairs are gone in the area, so there's nothing to stimulate."
That's why he stresses it's only for those with pattern hair loss, like patient Sandra Molnar. She first started seeing results about a month after her first visit in May.
"Relief, total relief. I'm very happy with the outcome," she said.
Will it last? Only time will tell, but so far so good for Molnar.
Milgraum said the treatment is considered cosmetic, so it's not covered by insurance. The full treatment, which is given over the course of three visits, totals about $1,800.
