Topical solution medical data Topical hair removal solutions have long been the domain of scam
artists. Various products claiming to eliminate or retard hair
growth have shown no valid scientific data to support these claims.
Unless it's named  Vaniqa,
it hasn't demonstrated that it can work as claimed.
Vaniqa: a new prescription hair retardant cream
In July, 2000, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gillette announced they
had received FDA approval for a prescription hair retardant cream
under the brand name Vaniqa. This is the first and only topical
product to conduct extensive clinical testing and receive subsequent
approval from FDA.
Vaniqua is intended to target an enzyme critical to hair growth.
As of this writing, there is no published clinical data on Vaniqa,
but I have included animal studies on this enzyme, and some unpublished
reports from the manufacturer of Vaniqa.
For more information, please see the discussion of Vaniqa.
 = recommended only for in-depth researchers
= may be worth ordering
= strongly recommended
Published human clinical studies
No published clinical data
Unpublished clinical reports
FDA submission data (2000):
After 24 weeks, physicians observed that 58% of
393 patients using Vaniqa had improvement in appearance of facial
hair (vs.34% improved with a placebo). 42% of patients using
Vaniqa had no observed improvement.
Animal studies on target enzyme (ODC)
Probst (1975): Ornithine decarboxylase
(ODC) levels increase in correlation to hair growth activity
in rat follicles.
Morrison (1978): ODC activities
can be stimulated 2-10 fold in rat epidermis and dermis by hair
plucking.
Lesiewicz (1980): ODC induction
from plucking is different than chemical induction
Ogawa (1983): Suppression of
mouse hair regrowth was observed using PUVA, DHT, estradiol,
and betamethasone valerate. A correlation was observed between
the rate of hair regrowth and skin ODC activities after treatment.
Lesiewicz (1983): ODC
inhibitor was detected in plucked rat skin; inhibitor levels
increased after treatment of plucked skin extracts with 10%
(NH4)2SO4.
Soler (1996): Results suggest
that ODC is an important regulatory gene for the mouse hair
follicle.
Hynd (1996): Systemic use of the ODC inhibitor alpha difluoromethylornithine,
markedly altered the length, diameter, and composition of the
sheep hair fibers.
O'Brien (1997): Indicates target
cells for chemical carcinogens in the skin reside in mouse hair
follicles, and high ODC can increase risk epidermal tumors.
Nancarrow (1999): Good discussion of how ODC expression
is associated with cell proliferation and commitment in hair
follicle development and hair growth.
Panteleyev (2000): ODC plays a functionally important,
yet still obscure role in a complex metabolic pathway that is
critical in hair follicle function not only in mice, but in
humans as well.
Side effects
FDA side effect data (2000):
Most side effcts involved types of skin irritation.
2% of subjects discontinued studies due to an adverse event.
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