Bald men can regain hair with eye drops for glaucoma. Drug interactions and pre-existing diseases can make the therapy risky. However, eye drops for glaucoma have become a macho thing. It may even end one of the world's greatest male torments, baldness. So a survey, published by researchers in the journal FASEB, reveals.
Eye drops for glaucoma have become a macho thing. It may even end one of the world's greatest male torments - baldness. It is what a survey that has just been published shows, made by a group of researchers in the journal FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) based in the UK. The authors stated that they decided to do the experiment with hair follicles using bimatoprost, because the substance is already used in cosmetics to increase the eyelashes.
Although the result was not conclusive, research shows that hair follicles produce more hair when treated with bimatoprost than those which do not receive the drops. Excited about this? Calm down a moment... There are a few hurdles ahead. The price of the medication is the first one of these. According to the ophthalmologist of Instituto Penido Burnier in Brazil, Leôncio Queiroz Neto, a bottle of eye drops with 3 ml goes for R$ 70 reais (35 US Dollars).
Another problem, he comments, is that the scalps act as a sponge because it has a lot of veins. "This increases the severity of the side effects of medication because of the greater absorption of the drug," he says.
Risks
For example, he observes, bimatoprost may cause hypertension, headache, nausea, shortness of breath in people who exhibit sensitivity to the substance, even when used in the eyes. Surveys show that interaction of the eye drops with a beta-blocker, a medication used to treat hypertension, can cause vertigo. The doctor points out that the larger the area of the scalp in touch with bimatoprost, the greater the damage may be. So those who have high blood pressure should be cautious.
Another group that should exercise caution in using bimatoprost are those with renal problems. That's because the primary means of excretion of the drug is through the urinary tract.
Vanity
Queiroz Neto says that the male population is increasingly vain. So, no doubt that in the coming months the consumption of bimatoprost will increase (in Brazil). Just to give you an idea, the hospital records show that the male audience today in this country already accounts for 4 in 10 refractive surgeries to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. 10 years ago they represented only 20% of all surgeries, i.e. the demand for refractive surgery by the male population doubled in this period.
Queiroz Neto highlights that 60% of patients say they want to get rid of their glasses to appear younger. Not surprisingly, among the over-40s, he says that the procedure is the most sought after is monovision - leaving one eye seeing up close and another from afar so as not to use reading glasses, an undisputed sign of advancing age.
Most prefer the procedure done with intralaser because it is made entirely by laser, and therefore it is more accurate and reliable. A tip for those who cannot use bimatoprost to regain hair is that without glasses a person can look 10 years younger.
Eutrópia Turazzi
Translated from the Portuguese version
of Pravda.Ru by
Olga Selyanina
Pravda.Ru
Portuguese version