new thread
Hey guys,
I am generally a skeptic about most claims that have no evidence to back them up. As Carl Sagan said, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” Anyway, I found another scientific article about hair, so I thought I would share it. The article is from the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology and I found it on the NIH website (see link below). It is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the oral supplement Viviscal Maximum Strength. This particular article was a study on women, after similar studies in men “have demonstrated the efficacy of Viviscal (the product used in these studies was originally marketed under the brand name Hairgain® [Parexel Medstat AS, Lillestrøm, Norway])”.
The article is somewhat technical and boring, so if you do not want to read the entire article I would suggest reading the Abstract section at the beginning of the article and the Results section about halfway down.
Please note that the study was funded by the company that produces Viviscal, “Funding for this study was provided by Lifes2good, Inc., Chicago, Illinois.” This immediately set off my skeptical alarm. Nevertheless, it is a scientific study, so, all things considered, draw your own conclusions. At least it carries more weight on my scale than anecdotal claims. I have not yet decided if I will try it, as it is rather expensive and I’m not sure it would help me. I know it will not grow hair on my bald pate, however, it might give me more hair to work with where my hair does grow.
Also, I would love to know if anyone has used this product and what kind of results you saw. I noticed that the subject was brought up here back in April, but the two responders had not tried it. If I decide to try it I will let you know what happens, if anything.
All the best,
Marx
If you do a search on the internet there are reports that
there are counterfeit pills being sold, that people are
reporting severe acne and rashes, and that it doesn't work.
Buyer beware.
Good advice. Thanks.
-Marx
I read scientific articles for a living, in order to provide recommendations to prescription drug benefits plans. Since there were only 15 patients in this study, no conclusions can be made.
Thanks, ricroc. I didn't notice that and it is certainly an important consideration.
-Marx
Not fully agreeing. The control group was stable at 250 counts, the treated group jumped to 500 counts and more. Spread in both counts was about 10%, which makes the factor 2 increase statistically significant.
Then there may be exceptions to the result of the treatement (including misreactions), and if they are rare then you cannot probably witness them in such a small study.
On the other hand, this was a selected group of women with scalp problems, so any assessment about what this treatement would do on a different gender with possibly totally different scalp condition is speculative at best.
Cheers
Lucio
Well, I do seem to have diffuse hair loss, as they call it, and not MPB. OTOH, thankfully nothing nearly as bad as the ladies shown in these photos. As I understand it, this is often also found in men over 65, but I am only 57!
Although the sample was small, and they don't address the causes, the drug might possibly do me some good, BUT I have a different question - what side effects are known in MEN?