Androgenic alopecia, commonly called male pattern baldness, advances in a predictable sequence of events. While many gaps remain in our understanding, basic processes include the genetic programming of hair follicles and the circulatory strength of male hormones.

Baldness, while not exactly a physical disease, does cause emotional distress to men and women who suffer from it. Spectral.DNC-L is the topical treatment that works through multiple pathways to arrest hair loss and cause regrowth.

Demographics. White men suffer the greatest risk of baldness; 96 percent will lose significant hair eventually. This effect testifies to the role of genetics. But eunuchs do not go bald. That effect testifies to the role of hormones.

By age 30, 30 percent of Caucasoid males will show evidence of androgenic alopecia. By 50, 50 percent will. They are four times more likely than negroid males to go bald.

Spectral.DNC-L contains research-grade 5% minoxidil, approved in the 1990s by the US Food and Drug Adminis¬tration to regrow hair, and still the most proven molecule. The formula also contains Aminexil SP94®, the next most proven medication, plus a broad spectrum of other proven and promising agents: procyanidins B-2 and C-1, natural 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, arginine, adenosine, botanicals, retinol, vitamins, minerals, and capsicum.

Pathology. The standard pattern of balding begins with bitemporal recession of the hairline (W shape). At roughly the same time, the vertex (swirl at the crown) begins to thin. Eventually, it becomes a bald spot.

As the hairline retreats, the two bare patches merge, leaving an island of hair at the center-top. This holdout is the last to go.

While the exact order of events may vary, hair on the back and sides of the head remains largely intact. Loss can start as early as puberty, when androgens appear in concentration.

For some men, it takes only five years to go completely bald, although 15 to 25 is more typical. While average hair loss is five percent per year, the process often goes in spurts — three to six months of accelerated loss, followed by six to 18 months of relative quiescence.

Spectral.DNC-L is indicated for men with advanced androgenic alopecia — 4 or greater on the Norwood scale — because it combines numerous comple¬mentary agents to perform through multiple pathways.

Miniaturization. Hair follicles do not shut down suddenly. They produce strands progressively thinner and shorter, called miniaturization, during each follicular cycle. Three phases of growth make one cycle: anagen, catagen, and telogen.

In the anagen phase, which normally lasts a few years, cells at the base of the follicle grow and divide to form a new hair. The strand pushes through the scalp and lengthens during anagen phase.

In the catagen phase, a transition of just a week or two, the strand is nourished and remains attached, but the follicle shrinks and the hair stops growing.

In the telogen phase, normally several weeks, the follicle rests and stops nourishing the hair, which can fall, be pulled, or get pushed out at any time. When the follicle cycles back into anagen phase, it produces a new hair that pushes out any remaining old hair.

The ratio of anagen- to telogen-phase follicles is normally 12:1. With androgenic alopecia, that ratio gets progressively thinner, maybe 5:1. Anagen phases get shorter and telogen phases get longer. For this reason, patients need patience with any treatment.

Follicular miniaturization affects the papilla (vascular process that nourishes the root), the matrix (environment in which the hair forms), and the shaft. Roots often become rigid and compress the blood vessels that nourish them, called the rigidification of collagen.

As follicles miniaturize, the diameters of their hairs get smaller as well, perhaps from .08 mm down to .06 mm. Pigment production also decreases.

Spectral.DNC-L works to reverse miniaturization by incorporating arginine to help the body form nitric oxide, three phytosterol extracts to inhibit the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, procyanidins to help the root sheaths and bulb matrix interact successfully with the dermal papilla, and Aminexil SP94 to prevent rigidification of collagen.

Pathogenisis. Counterintuitively, the same hormones that cause hairs to lose pigment and fall out of the scalp after puberty also cause them to gain pig¬ment and grow thick on the face, chest, armpits, and pubis.

Studies of androgen insensitivity and 5-alpha-reductase deficiency have attempted to explain this paradox. Why do some follicles react to hormonal activity by shutting down? Four major theories include:

• higher numbers of androgen receptors,
• higher local production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT),
• higher level of systemic testosterone, and or
• higher production of DHT by the prostate.

The enzyme 5-alpha-reductase catalyzes testosterone into DHT, which binds to the same receptors, but more avidly. While the prostate does produce more DHT than the scalp, the role of each site is not fully understood.

Changes in scalp hair does not imply changes in body hair or sex drive. The effects of androgens on a follicle depend entirely on its location. When occipital hair follicles get transplanted to a bald vertex, they continue to resist alopecic attack, the basis of hair transplant surgery. Conversely, follicles from a bald vertex do not grow hair even when transplanted amid growing hairs.

Scientists believe this genetic programming comes from dominant autosomal genes that control testosterone and its conversion to DHT, but do not rule out polygenesis.

Spectral.DNC-L deploys three potent phytosterol extracts to reduce the production of DHT by inhibiting the activity of 5-alpha-reductase: ripe-olive biophenols (verbasco¬side), saw palmetto (serenoa repens), and flax seed (secoisolariciresinol diglucoside).

Treatment. Premature hair loss generally distorts and diminishes a man’s self image in proportion to his degree of baldness, making him feel older and less attractive than his peers, especially when young and unattached. Optimal treatment includes not only physical repair of the scalp, but also emotional support and measures to enhance self esteem.

Three forms of physical treatment are effective: surgical reconfiguration of the scalp, drugs taken orally, and lotions applied topically.

Transplantation generally gives good results, since follicles retain their genetic programming to grow hair even after they are moved. Current procedures using smaller grafts give a more natural appearance than the larger plugs used a few years ago. The excision of bald scalp and stretching of hairy scalp is another surgical technique, sometimes used in conjunction with transplanting. But there is pain and inconvenience, and the cost runs to several thousands of dollars.

One oral drug, finasteride, was approved a few years ago. The 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor arrests hair loss by reducing DHT produced in the prostate. Half of drug users regrow some lost hair. Known side effects are minimal. A few men lose libido, but it returns when the drug is discontinued.

Many topical lotions have been touted, then debunked, including ascorbic acid, benzoic acid, jojoba oil, lanolin, sulphanilamide, tetracaine hydrochloride, and urea. Only three topical compounds have clinical, peer-reviewed, published studies behind them to prove their efficacy in retaining and regrowing hair. These are minoxidil, Aminexil SP94, and procyanidin B-2.

Of the products available over the counter or by prescription, one, Spectral.DNC-L, contains all three of these proven ingredients, plus a battery of auxiliary agents known to enhance their effectiveness: phytosterol 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors to suppress DHT, arginine to stimulate nitric oxide formation, adenosine to transfer energy, botanicals to combat fungal colonization and reduce sebum, retinol to calm inflamed tissue, vitamins and minerals to nourish follicles, and capsicum to stimulate them.

Nanosome encapsulation, a proprietary technology of DS Laboratories, causes the dermis to absorb Spectral.DNC-L deeper, where it can be more effective. Other formulas tend to sit up at the surface of the scalp, where there are no follicles.