n/t
Today, I received this in my mailbox from MPB Research:
The standardized extract of Saw Palmetto, (Permixon), has been extensively used for the prevention and treatment of hair loss since it first widely appeared on the European market some 17 years ago.
Its reported efficacy has gotten mixed reviews. Many have claimed to have gotten moderate to significant results, while others maintain it is completely useless.
There is only one study in the medical literature evaluating its effects on hairloss, and this study showed a positive result over a 6 month period. What is problematic about this study though is that one (not all) of the authors noted has a commercial interest in an oral, Saw Palmetto based, hair loss treatment product. This in itself may not necessarily negate the results.
Another study, sponsored by Merck, the manufacturer of both Proscar and Propecia, evaluated the ability of Saw Palmetto to improve BPH (prostate enlargement) symptoms and lower serum levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) compared to finasteride(Proscar/Propecia).
Not surprisingly, Saw Palmetto came out the big loser, as it showed no effect whatsoever on BPH symptoms and no effect on serum DHT levels, while finasteride dropped DHT by 65%.
This one study by Merck was unfortunately enough to cause many to abandon its usage.
Despite this negative result in a company sponsored study, subsequent studies showed Saw Palmetto to be at least as effective, and often superior to finasteride in its ability to mitigate the symptoms of BPH.
So what gives??
The significant part of the answer lies in one of its identified mechanisms of action. There is a common and erroneous perception that Saw Palmetto and Propecia work the same way.
Saw Palmetto, unlike finasteride (Proscar/Propecia), does not function as a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor that results in lower serum DHT (at least according to Merck). It works instead by reducing the uptake of DHT at the receptor sites by a factor of 40%.
Another erroneous perception is that Saw Palmetto somehow only inhibits androgen binding in Prostatic tissue, and somehow leaves other sites in the body unaffected. The following study shows a reduction of DHT in all tissue specimens evaluated.
Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1988;67(5):397-9.
The effect of Permixon on androgen receptors.
el-Sheikh MM, Dakkak MR, Saddique A.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Permixon, the liposterolic extract of the plant Serenoa Repens is a recently introduced drug for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The effect of Permixon on dihydrotestosterone and testosterone binding by eleven different tissue specimens was tested. The drug reduced the mean uptake of both hormones by 40.9% and 41.9% respectively in all tissue specimens. Since hirsutism and virilism are among other gynecological problems caused either by excessive androgen stimulation or excess endorgan response, we suggest that Permixon could be a useful treatment in such conditions and recommend further investigations of the possible therapeutic values of the drug in gynecological practice.
These findings would seem consistent with the many anecdotal claims made by female bodybuilders that Saw Palmetto reliably prevents the hair thinning and body hair growth (hirsutism) often induced by certain anabolic steroids.
So what does all this mean for hair loss treatment??
It would appear to indicate that Saw Palmetto is likely very useful as a hair loss intervention, however its ascertainable effects on hair, like any mild anti-androgen, take a long time (often 1 year or more) to manifest.
Not unlike Proscar , when it first came to market in '92, many have tried Saw Palmetto for a few months, didn't see visible results, and concluded it "didn't work". When Proscar(5X more finasteride than Propecia) was being experimented in the early years, prior to its FDA approval for hair loss, the consensus was that it useless, and a big disappointment. The reason for this was that the results for most were subtle and virtually undetectable for the first 6-9 months anyway.
As we all know, Proscar (5mg finasteride) went on to become FDA approved for hair loss at a 1mg dose,(Propecia) in '98, a full 6 years after it came out.
I was personally fortunate enough(at least for my hair) to have stayed on both Saw Palmetto and a ¼ tablet of Proscar since '92. In 2004 I dropped Proscar for prophylactic health reasons (having to do with elevated estrogen levels) and have since been on a Saw Palmetto/Pygeum/Nettle /Cernitin/Beta Sitosterol combo (amongst a plethora of other compounds) with no apparent detriment to my hair.
The fact is that anti-androgens by themselves are slow acting and very gradually produce subtle at best cosmetic results, and are generally far more useful for hairloss prevention and attenuation than they are for regrowth.
As such, Saw Palmetto, if continually used, will likely give results equivocal to Propecia, and due to its unique mechanisms of action, can be combined with Propecia and other treatments for an additive effect.» Saw palmetto has the highest amount of free form fatty acids of any natural
» substance.
Where did you get THAT from?
For you Saw Palmetto lovers…although I’ve posted this numerous times over the years: "In fact, Alphastat has been shown in studies to exhibit 20% greater 5-alpha reductase inhibition than saw palmetto alone. "
» I have to admit, that is interesting. Dr. Proctor puts alot of abscorbyl
» palmitate (vitamin C form) in prox-n
Yes, vitamin-C has some hair-growth-stimulating properties. I even have a US patent on this application.
Peter H Proctor, PhD, MD
» Today, I received this in my mailbox from MPB Research:
»
» The standardized extract of Saw Palmetto, (Permixon), has been extensively
» used for the prevention and treatment of hair loss since it first widely
» appeared on the European market some 17 years ago.
»
» Its reported efficacy has gotten mixed reviews. Many have claimed to
» have gotten moderate to significant results, while others maintain it is
» completely useless.
»
» There is only one study in the medical literature evaluating its
» effects on hairloss, and this study showed a positive result over a 6
» month period. What is problematic about this study though is that one (not
» all) of the authors noted has a commercial interest in an oral, Saw
» Palmetto based, hair loss treatment product. This in itself may not
» necessarily negate the results.
»
» Another study, sponsored by Merck, the manufacturer of both Proscar
» and Propecia, evaluated the ability of Saw Palmetto to improve BPH
» (prostate enlargement) symptoms and lower serum levels of DHT
» (dihydrotestosterone) compared to finasteride(Proscar/Propecia).
»
» Not surprisingly, Saw Palmetto came out the big loser, as it showed no
» effect whatsoever on BPH symptoms and no effect on serum DHT levels, while
» finasteride dropped DHT by 65%.
»
» This one study by Merck was unfortunately enough to cause many to
» abandon its usage.
»
» Despite this negative result in a company sponsored study, subsequent
» studies showed Saw Palmetto to be at least as effective, and often
» superior to finasteride in its ability to mitigate the symptoms of BPH.
»
»
» So what gives??
»
» The significant part of the answer lies in one of its identified
» mechanisms of action. There is a common and erroneous perception that Saw
» Palmetto and Propecia work the same way.
»
» Saw Palmetto, unlike finasteride (Proscar/Propecia), does not function
» as a 5 alpha reductase inhibitor that results in lower serum DHT (at least
» according to Merck). It works instead by reducing the uptake of DHT at the
» receptor sites by a factor of 40%.
»
» Another erroneous perception is that Saw Palmetto somehow only
» inhibits androgen binding in Prostatic tissue, and somehow leaves other
» sites in the body unaffected. The following study shows a reduction of DHT
» in all tissue specimens evaluated.
»
»
» Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1988;67(5):397-9.
»
»
» The effect of Permixon on androgen receptors.
»
» el-Sheikh MM, Dakkak MR, Saddique A.
»
» Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King Khalid University
» Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
»
» Permixon, the liposterolic extract of the plant Serenoa Repens is a
» recently introduced drug for the treatment of benign prostatic
» hyperplasia. The effect of Permixon on dihydrotestosterone and
» testosterone binding by eleven different tissue specimens was tested. The
» drug reduced the mean uptake of both hormones by 40.9% and 41.9%
» respectively in all tissue specimens. Since hirsutism and virilism are
» among other gynecological problems caused either by excessive androgen
» stimulation or excess endorgan response, we suggest that Permixon could be
» a useful treatment in such conditions and recommend further investigations
» of the possible therapeutic values of the drug in gynecological practice.
»
» These findings would seem consistent with the many anecdotal claims
» made by female bodybuilders that Saw Palmetto reliably prevents the hair
» thinning and body hair growth (hirsutism) often induced by certain
» anabolic steroids.
»
» So what does all this mean for hair loss treatment??
»
» It would appear to indicate that Saw Palmetto is likely very useful as
» a hair loss intervention, however its ascertainable effects on hair, like
» any mild anti-androgen, take a long time (often 1 year or more) to
» manifest.
»
» Not unlike Proscar , when it first came to market in '92, many have
» tried Saw Palmetto for a few months, didn’t see visible results, and
» concluded it “didn’t work”. When Proscar(5X more finasteride than
» Propecia) was being experimented in the early years, prior to its FDA
» approval for hair loss, the consensus was that it useless, and a big
» disappointment. The reason for this was that the results for most were
» subtle and virtually undetectable for the first 6-9 months anyway.
»
» As we all know, Proscar (5mg finasteride) went on to become FDA
» approved for hair loss at a 1mg dose,(Propecia) in '98, a full 6 years
» after it came out.
»
» I was personally fortunate enough(at least for my hair) to have stayed
» on both Saw Palmetto and a ¼ tablet of Proscar since '92. In 2004 I dropped
» Proscar for prophylactic health reasons (having to do with elevated
» estrogen levels) and have since been on a Saw Palmetto/Pygeum/Nettle
» /Cernitin/Beta Sitosterol combo (amongst a plethora of other compounds)
» with no apparent detriment to my hair.
»
» The fact is that anti-androgens by themselves are slow acting and very
» gradually produce subtle at best cosmetic results, and are generally far
» more useful for hairloss prevention and attenuation than they are for
» regrowth.
»
» As such, Saw Palmetto, if continually used, will likely give results
» equivocal to Propecia, and due to its unique mechanisms of action, can be
» combined with Propecia and other treatments for an additive effect.
Saw Palmetto can be very effective