A trial is underway in Melbourne to see if an eye-drop medication could be repurposed as a potential hair regrowth treatment.
Sinclair Dermatology Professor Rod Sinclair is leading a trial to investigate if Latanoprost could help men who are starting to lose their hair.
The medication has been used for glaucoma, which treats eye conditions however many patients using it have started reporting an unusual side effect.
“All the patients started to grow long eyelashes and it was a nuisance for them,” Professor Sinclair said.
“They actually started to complain they actually couldn’t wear their glasses anymore because every time they blinked their lashes hit the lens.”
Seeing how it grew eyelashes, Professor Sinclair told 9News that it sparked an idea.
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“This company has taken this ingredient and they have put it into a new formulation that penetrates better into the skin in the hope that this will grow scalp hair,” he said.
The trial will recruiting men who have vertex balding, which is loss of hair at the crown.
The participants will use the medication in drop form daily and must stick to the same hair style for six months.
“We know that when we put it on the eyelids it will grow eyelashes,” Professor Sinclair said.
“The question we’re asking in this trial is whether it will also grow hair on the scalp where the hair’s a lot thicker.”
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