A Comparative Study of a New Food Supplement, ViviScal®, with Fish Extract for the Treatment of Hereditary Androgenic Alopecia in Young Males

A controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study compared the effects of ViviScal® (a new food supplement incorporating special marine extracts and a silica compound) with those of a fish extract in the treatment of young males with hereditary androgenic alopecia. The pretreatment histological diagnosis was alopecia with a mild to moderate perifollicular inflammation zone. The study consisted of 20 subjects who received two tablets of ViviScal® once daily and 20 who received two tablets of fish extract once daily for 6 months. The mean patient age and mean duration and severity of baldness compared well between the two groups. Most patients had been treated with long-term topical 2% minoxidil for 1 year or more prior to the study. At baseline and after 6 months' treatment, a biopsy was taken for histological examination. A non-vellus hair count was performed at baseline and after 2, 4 and 6 months. In the fish extract treatment group three patients withdrew from the study before the fourth month due to lack of therapeutic effect. After 6 months' treatment, patients receiving ViviScal® showed a mean increase in non-vellus hair of 38% compared with a 2% increase in the fish extract treatment group (P < 0.0001). In the ViviScal® group, 19 (95%) subjects showed both clinical and histological cure, whereas none treated with fish extract showed any clinical or histological difference after 6 months' treatment ( P < 0.0001). In both groups, a minimal decrease in the erythemal index was observed. In conclusion, ViviScal® appears to be the first highly active treatment for androgenic alopecia in young males.