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 Dr. Lee is the founder and owner of Regrowth LLC, a company based in Los Angeles and dedicated to the treatment of hair loss. He has been developing innovative products and treating hair loss sufferers for the past 16 years. Dr. Lee is the creator of the Xandrox line of hair loss treatments.
Important Note: Due a busy schedule, Dr. Lee cannot answer any new questions at this time; however, he will be providing high quality answers to questions he receives from his own practice exclusively to Morphollica.com regularly
[name not provided]
2004-08-02
Minoxidil Sulfate for MPB
Since minoxidil sulfate has been confirmed in many scientific studies* to be the active metabolite of minoxidil in stimulating the growth of hair follicles, why not use minoxidil sulfate to treat MPB?
Minoxidil sulfate is available from chemical companies such as Spectrum (www.spectrumchemical.com) and The Lab Depot, Inc. (www.labdepotinc.com). The cost of minoxidil sulfate is more than $25.00 per milligram (mg). One milliliter of a 5% minoxidil sulfate solution requires 50mgs of minoxidil sulfate, so the cost of the minoxidil sulfate alone for a single application would be at least $1250. If 1mL of 5% minoxidil sulfate were to be applied to the scalp twice a day for one month (30 days), the cost would be $75,000. Aside from the exorbitant cost, minoxidil sulfate is inherently unstable and has to be kept frozen to preserve its chemical integrity.
Anderson RJ, Kudlacek PE, Clemens DL. Sulfation of minoxidil by multiple human cytosolic sulfotransferases. Chem Biol Interact 1998; 109:53-67
Buhl AE, Baker CA, Dietz AJ et al. Minoxidil sulfotransferase activity influences the efficacy of Rogaine topical solution (TS): enzyme studies using scalp and platelets. J Invest Dermatol 1994; 102:534
Buhl AE, Waldon DJ, Baker CA et al. Minoxidil sulfate is the active metabolite that stimulates hair follicles. J Invest Dermatol 1990; 95:553-7.
Baker CA, Uno H, Johnson GA. Minoxidil sulfation in the hair follicle. Skin Pharmacol 1994; 7:335-9
Dooley TP. Molecular biology of the human cytosolic sulferotransferase gene superfamily implicated in the bioactivation of minoxidil and cholesterol in skin. Exp Dermatol 1999; 8:328-9
Hamamoto T, Mori Y. Sulfation of minoxidil in keratinocytes and hair follicles. Res Commun Chem Pathol Pharmacol 1989; 66:33-44.
Messenger A.G and Rundegren J. Minoxidil: mechanisms of action on hair growth British Journal of Dermatology 2004; 150:186
Meisheri KD, Cipkus LA, Taylor CJ. Mechanism of action of minoxidil sulfate-induced vasodilation: a role for increased K+ permeability. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1988; 245:751-60.
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