Comparative efficacy of 2% minoxidil alone against combination of 2% minoxidil and low-level laser therapy in female pattern hair loss-A randomized controlled trial in Chinese females.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of combination of 655 nm low level laser helmet device with topical 2 % minoxidil solution at FPHL in Chinese population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Randomized, parallel, controlled, single-blind clinical trial was conducted. FPHL subjects were randomly allocated into 2 % minoxidil group and combination group. The 2 % minoxidil group received 1 ml topical 2 % minoxidil solution twice daily for 24 weeks. The combination group received 1 ml topical 2 % minoxidil solution twice daily together with 20 min 655 nm low-level laser helmet once every other day for 24 weeks. Hair parameters in two scalp areas including midscalp and vertex were evaluated at baseline, 12th week and 24th week. RESULTS: In midscalp area, the combination group showed a lower increase in intermediate hair percentage than 2 % minoxidil group, which was statistically significant. Besides, the combination group had statistically significant increase than 2 % minoxidil group in mean hair diameter. Reported relative adverse events included slightly hair loss (27.8 %), desquamation (19.0 %), pruritus (15.2 %), seborrhea (2.5 %) and hypertrichosis (2.5 %). CONCLUSION: In our trial, LLLT was demonstrated as a useful supplementary treatment for FPHL and the combination with 2 % minoxidil accomplished better improvement in intermediate hair enlargement and hair diameter of midscalp for FPHL.

[Identification of Q-markers for Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus in treating drug-induced liver injury based on network pharmacology, fingerprint and quantitative analysis].

This study aims to establish the ultra-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC) fingerprint and multi-indicator quantitative analysis method for Schisandrae Sphenantherae Fructus(SSF) and to screen out the potential quality markers(Q-markers) of hepatoprotection based on network pharmacology. The similarity analysis was performed using the Chinese Medicine Chromatographic Fingerprint Similarity Evaluation System, which showed that the similarity of the fingerprints of 15 samples from different regions ranged from 0.981 to 0.998. Eighteen common components were identified, from which 3 differential components were selected by cluster analysis and principal component analysis. The "component-target-pathway" network was built to predict the core components related to the hepatoprotective effects. Fourteen core components were screened by network pharmacology. They acted on the targets such as AKT1, CCND1, CYP1A1, CYP3A4, MAPK1, MAPK3, NOS2, NQO1, and PTGS2 to regulate the signaling pathways of lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis, hepatitis B, interleukin-17, and tumor necrosis factor. Considering the chemical measurability, characteristics, and validity, schisantherin A, anwulignan, and schisandrin A were identified as the Q-markers. The content of schisantherin A, anwulignan, and schisandrin A in the test samples were 0.20%-0.57%, 0.13%-0.33%, and 0.42%-0.70%, respectively. Combining the fingerprint, network pharmacology, and content determination, this study predicted that schisantherin A, anwulignan, and schisandrin A were the Q-markers for the hepatoprotective effect of SSF. The results can provide reference for improving the quality evaluation standard and exploring the hepatoprotective mechanism of SSF.