Acceleration of Hair Growth Rate by Topical Liposomal Cepharanthine in Male Androgenetic Alopecia

Because we previously found that cepharanthine (CEP) induces production of IGF-I, one of anagen inducers, from dermal papilla cells, we investigated clinical effect of topical lipoid CEP (lipo-CEP) on hair growth of male androgenetic alopecia (AGA). Twenty-three males with early AGA applied 0.1% lipo-CEP lotion once a day on the vertex area for 6 months. As a result, hair growth rate was significantly accelerated from 0.243 to 0.281 mm/day (p<0.01). Likewise, hair density and thickness increased but the changes were not statistically significant (p<0.1). From these results, lipo-CEP lotion can stimulate hair growth mainly through accelerating growth rate, representing a hopeful reagent for treating AGA.