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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
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2004-03-15
Why DMSO isn't used for MPB
Why not use DMSO as the base for the topical treatments for MPB?
The answer is simple and straightforward. DMSO hasn’t been proven safe for human use as a solvent for topical medications.
Here is an excerpt from an FDA alert of 1992
(http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia6206.html): DMSO is dimethyl sulfoxide, a solvent derived from wood, which has been the subject of considerable interest for its potential as a drug. Testing of DMSO as a drug began in the early 1960's, but was halted in 1965 after experiments in animals indicated that it had adverse effects on the eyes. Experiments were resumed the following year with restrictions to assure that patients were adequately protected. At present, the only human use for which DMSO has been approved is for interstitial cystitis, a bladder condition.
DMSO is an excellent carrier for many topically applied drugs and is widely used in veterinary medicine, because DMSO can carry other drugs with it across membranes. It is more successful ferrying some drugs, such as morphine sulfate, penicillin, steroid and cortisone, than others, such as insulin or minoxidil. What it will carry depends on the molecular weight, shape, and electrochemistry of the molecules.
Richard Lee, M.D.
Regrowth, LLC
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