ReviewClinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology2023
The Efficacy and Safety of Oral and Topical Spironolactone in Androgenetic Alopecia Treatment: A Systematic Review.
Review in Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Evaluating the Effectiveness of Commercial Oral Supplements for Hair Growth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2026Pooled it
- Pathophysiology, conventional treatments, and evidence-based herbal remedies of hair loss with a systematic review of controlled clinical trials.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Spironolactone versus Bicalutamide for Female Pattern Hair Loss: A 24-Month Unicenter Retrospective Comparative Study of Effectiveness and Safety.Dermatology and therapy · 2026Article
- Combination Therapy in Androgenetic Alopecia: A Network Meta-Analysis of Minoxidil and Other Pharmacological Agents.Aesthetic plastic surgery · 2026Review
- Revisiting Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia: Reappraisal of a Controversial Diagnosis.Skin appendage disorders · 2026Review
- Scalp microbiome in male androgenetic alopecia:Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Metoprolol-spironolactone combination for coronary heart disease with concurrent heart failure: impact on cardiac function.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Lifestyle factors affecting the pathogenesis of androgenetic alopecia: a literature review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Minoxidil cyclodextrin inclusion complex-loaded microemulsions and transfersomes for androgen alopecia treatment: a comparative study.Drug delivery and translational research · 2025Article
- Cancer-Related Alopecia Risk and Treatment.Current treatment options in oncology · 2025Review
- What do users in a polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) forum think about the treatments they tried: Analysing treatment sentiment using machine learning.Physical and engineering sciences in medicine · 2025Article
- Premature hair graying: a multifaceted phenomenon.International journal of dermatology · 2025Review
- Recent Advances in Drug Development for Hair Loss.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Human-Centric, Three Dimensional Micro Light-Emitting Diodes for Cosmetic and Medical Phototherapy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Approaches to management of endocrine therapy-induced alopecia in breast cancer patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Review
- Combating post-COVID hair loss: topical and oral treatments for hair regeneration.Irish journal of medical science · 2025Article
- Androgenetic Alopecia: An Update on Pathogenesis and Pharmacological Treatment.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Review
- A Systematic Review of Spironolactone Nano-Formulations for Topical Treatment of Skin Hyperandrogenic Disorders and Chronic Wounds.Pharmaceutics · 2024Review
- Psychological stress impact neurotrophic factor levels in patients with androgenetic alopecia and correlated with disease progression.World journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
- Management of Skin Toxicities in Cancer Treatment: An Australian/New Zealand Perspective.Cancers · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) has negative impacts on both men and women in terms of appearance and mental stress. Spironolactone is a synthetic aldosterone receptor antagonist known to stimulate hair growth and has been widely used by dermatologists to treat AGA. Objective: To conduct a systematic review evaluating the efficacy and safety of topical and oral spironolactone in AGA treatment. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science until October 23rd, 2022, for human studies evaluating the efficacy of spironolactone for the treatment of AGA, regardless of doses and routes. Results: We retrieved 784 papers and ultimately 7 articles matched our inclusion criteria and comprised 618 AGA patients (65 men, 553 women), 414 of them received spironolactone treatment. Oral spironolactone doses ranged from 25mg to 200mg daily, with the vast majority between 80mg and 110 mg. Dosage forms for topical spironolactone use include gels of 1% and solutions of 5% twice daily. Both oral and topical spironolactone have been shown efficacy for alopecia recovery, but topical use has significantly fewer side effects and is suitable for any gender. It showed better efficacy in combination with other therapies such as oral or topical minoxidil compared with monotherapy. Conclusion: Spironolactone is an effective and safe treatment of androgenic alopecia which can enhance the efficacy when combined with other conventional treatments such as minoxidil. Topical spironolactone is safer than oral administration and is suitable for both male and female patients, and is expected to become a common drug for those who do not have a good response to minoxidil. Furthermore, more high-quality clinical randomized controlled studies should be performed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.