ABSTRACT
Alopecia is a common complaint in clinical practice, with androgenetic alopecia, also referred to as male-pattern hair loss or common baldness, representing by far the most frequent cause of hair loss in men. Prerequisites for a successful management of hair loss are twofold: on the psychological and on the technical levels. However, morphometric studies in patients with male androgenetic alopecia treated with minoxidil showed that 55% of those with microinflammation had regrowth in response to treatment, in comparison to 77% in those patients without inflammation and fibrosis. As Evidence-based medicine guidelines on hair loss are rare, a European consensus group recently developed guidelines for treatment of androgenetic alopecia. For successful management of male androgenetic alopecia, one must remain open-minded for the possibility of a multitude of cause-relationships underlying hair loss, and accordingly for the potential of combination treatments. It is important to manage male androgenetic alopecia strategically, with the variety of current therapeutic options depending on the individual’s needs.
