Adenosine - More Effective Than Minoxidil?

Описание: https://www.hairguard.com

If you’re suffering from hair loss, you probably know all about minoxidil. What you have almost certainly haven’t heard of is adenosine.

It’s not approved for hair loss, but a number of studies have found that topical application can
promote hair growth similar to minoxidil.

One study that compared it directly to minoxidil actually found its users were more satisfied with the treatment.

It is also a naturally occurring compound, meaning there are hardly any side effects.

While all this makes adenosine an interesting proposition for treating hair loss, it is far from a magic bullet.

And it won’t work for everyone.

Stay tuned to learn all about it in today’s video.

Timestamps
📌0:00 - Intro
📌1:02 - What is Adenosine
📌2:06 - How does it work?
📌3:28 - Clinical studies
📌7:30 - The side effects

Full Transcript

So guys let’s get straight into it. What is adenosine?

Well, adenosine is chemically very similar to adenine.

This is one of the four nucleobases that go into making up our DNA - the other three being guanine, cytosine and thymine.

So adenosine is basically an adenine molecule attached to a sugar.

And given how similar it is to adenine, you find it occurring naturally in all cells of the body.

For example, in the cardiovascular system it widens the blood vessels, whereas in the central nervous system it acts like kind of a neurotransmitter.

Adenosine receptors are implicated in a variety of conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, inflammation, respiratory disorders, glaucoma, asthma – you name it.

So compounds similar to adenosine are being investigated as new treatments for conditions ranging from pain and cancer, to diabetes and stroke.

Now If you’re like most people, you get your daily shot of adenosine medication with your morning cup of coffee.

Caffeine is chemically very similar to adenosine, so it blocks its receptors.

And it is this effect that’s thought to underlie its stimulant and mildly psychoactive properties.
in 2012, a fascinating PET imaging study found that the caffeine equivalent of four to five cups of coffee can displace your endogenous adenosine by as much as 50% on certain receptors.

How it works for hair loss

So adenosine actually works very similar to minoxidil.

Or let me rephrase that correctly: minoxidil works very similar to adenosine.

You see, one of the ways that minoxidil is thought to work is by increasing the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VGEF).

VGEF is a signaling protein that promotes angiogenesis, the formation of blood vessels.

It’s also critical in the regulation of the hair growth cycle and size of hair follicles.

And the way minoxidil upregulates VGEF is via an adenosine pathway.

Or at least that’s a very strong hypothesis at this point.

There’s also been some interesting In vitro studies of adenosine with human dermal papilla cells.

These are the cells in the follicle that are critical in determining the follicles’ development and size.

And adenosine – in vitro at least - upregulates these cells’ expression of so-called Fibroblast Growth Factor-7 (FGF-7)

This is a signaling protein that is abundantly expressed when the follicles are developing and is believed to mediate their growth.

FGF-7 has also been found to inhibit the transition from the anagen phase of the growth cycle - where the hair shaft increases in length - to catagen, where hair growth ceases.

So, on paper at least, adenosine is expected to produce larger hair follicles that are in their growth phase for longer.

Reference Links
https://upcn.upm.edu.ph/index.php/act...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24183...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/a...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/a...