Eflornithine HCl topical hair inhibitor
Eflornithine hydrochloride (sold under the brand name  Vaniqa) is a prescription cream
applied to the skin for the reduction of unwanted facial hair
in women ages 12 and older. For unknown reasons, Vaniqa does not
work for everyone.
Background
Hair growth cells and cancer cells share some interesting characteristics:
rapidly dividing with multiple potentials for differentiation.
This is part of the reason chemotherapy and radiation can result
in hair loss: they disrupt the same kinds of cellular activity.
[1] It has been theorized that some cancer drugs may be used to
induce a controlled amount of hair loss or reduction. Vaniqa's
active ingredient, eflornithine hydrochloride, has been observed
to result in antitumor activity. [2] It is the first commercially-available
topical preparation to come out of this sort of research.
Vaniqa became available on July 31, 2000. Originally made by
Bristol-Myers Squibb
in a partnership with Gillette, it is
now a separate company under the name Women First Healthcare.
Vaniqa
website
Clinical data
Eflornithine hydrochloride inhibits an enzyme which has been
observed to affect hair growth in rats [3]. Regulation of this
enzyme, called ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), was later shown
to reduce hair growth in mice [4] and sheep [5]. Recent studies
suggest observations in certain types of mice may have parallels
in humans. [6, 7]
This drug has been found to be an astonishingly effective cure
for some types of African "sleeping sickness," even
able to cause a rapid and complete recovery in comatose patients.
[8] Clinical reports show that taking it orally to treat sleeping
sickness can induce hair loss as a side effect. [9]
One large published study on safety found the product rarely
caused significant side effects such as acne, follicle irritation,
itching or dryness. [10]. This corroborates unpublished data submitted
to FDA showing about 2% of subjects discontinued use due to adverse
reactions. [11]
Unpublished efficacy data submitted to FDA observed about 58%
of women using it on facial hair had improvement. [11] This study
suggests it may be particularly effective in postmenopausal women.
See my Vaniqa clinical
data pages for more on effectiveness and side effects.
Proof of how hard it is to judge effectiveness
Perhaps the most striking result was how many women in the control
group (who used cream with no active ingredient) were observed
to have less hair. Of 201 patients, over one-third who used a
placebo were assessed by physicians as either “improved”
or “marked improvement.” [11]
This huge number of “false positives” means two things
for consumers seeking hair removal:
It's really hard to tell if a new hair removal product is effective
or not, especially based on the personal experiences of just
a few people.
It's really easy for quacks to exploit this difficulty and
make overblown claims about products they promote.
That's why you should rely on large-scale controlled studies
to determine if a hair removal product is effective.
A note on internet marketing of Vaniqa
Consumers should be cautious when looking to purchase Vaniqa
online. Many websites offer come-ons like this:
Free Online Medical Consultation!
No Prior Prescription Needed!
Because it is a prescription drug, and because it's not right
for everyone, you should visit a doctor in person before getting
a prescription. In fact, it is illegal to sell Vaniqa without
a prescription, so many online companies are breaking the law
or bending it with a "rent-a-doctor" who rubber-stamps
all purchases. This is unsafe and probably against the law. Some
consumers ordering prescriptions online have their orders confiscated
by postal inspectors or simply never sent, so you run a risk by
ordering through fly-by-night companies online.
The official Vaniqa
website has a page on how
to get it through legitimate means.
References
-
Thatte U, Bagadey S, Dahanukar S. Modulation of programmed
cell death by medicinal plants.
Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand) 2000 Feb;46(1):199-214.
-
Griffin CA and others. Phase I trial and
pharmacokinetic study of intravenous and oral alpha-difluoromethylornithine. Invest New Drugs 1987;5(2):177-86.
-
Probst E, Krebs A. Ornithine decarboxylase activity in relation
to DNA synthesis in mouse interfollicular epidermis and hair
follicles. Biochim Biophys Acta 1975 Oct 1;407(2):147-57.
-
Soler AP, Gilliard G, Megosh LC, O'Brien TG. Modulation of murine hair follicle function
by alterations in ornithine decarboxylase activity. J
Invest Dermatol 1996 May;106(5):1108-13.
-
Hynd PI, Nancarrow MJ. Inhibition of polyamine synthesis alters
hair follicle function and fiber composition. J Invest
Dermatol 1996 Feb;106(2):249-53.
-
Nancarrow MJ, Nesci A, Hynd PI, Powell BC. Dynamic expression of ornithine decarboxylase
in hair growth. Mech Dev 1999 Jun;84(1-2):161-4.
-
Panteleyev AA, Christiano AM, O'Brien TG, Sundberg JP. Ornithine decarboxylase transgenic mice
as a model for human atrichia with papular lesions. Exp
Dermatol 2000 Apr;9(2):146-51.
-
McNeil, DG Jr. Profits on Cosmetic Save a Cure for Sleeping
Sickness. New York Times, February 9, 2001
-
Pepin J, Milord F, Guern C, Schechter PJ. Difluoromethylornithine for arseno-resistant
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense sleeping sickness. Lancet.
1987 Dec 19;2(8573):1431-3.
-
Hickman JG, Huber F, Palmisano M. Human dermal safety
studies with eflornithine HCl 13.9% cream (Vaniqa), a novel
treatment for excessive facial hair. Curr Med Res Opin. 2001;16(4):235-44.
-
Vaniqa package insert (requires Adobe
Acrobat). VaniqaTM is a trademark of
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
|
