MSD launches website on male pattern baldness

Although some men do look good with no hair, such as actors Bruce Willis, Vin Diesel, Sean Connery, Jason Statham, and even our very own Derek Ramsay, most Filipino men are really concerned about going bald.

This was the revelation made Thursday by the drug firm Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), the Philippine subsidiary of the US-based drug firm Merck, in a presentation in Makati City to launch an informative website on male pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia (AGA).

According to MSD, about 69 percent of Asian men, including Filipinos, feel sad rather than angry when attention is drawn to their loss of hair. And nearly 30 percent of Filipino men, who were surveyed last February, think about their personal appearance and wished they had more hair.

MSD manufactures the anti-hair loss drug Propecia, an enzyme inhibitor known by its generic name as Finasteride.

Finasteride inhibits the enzyme that converts the androgen testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that causes hair follicles to shrink causing abnormal hair growth leading to male pattern baldness.

Filipino men who are concerned about AGA and how to get possible treatments, can visit MSD’s website www.savethehair.com.ph.

According to MSD, androgenetic alopecia is the most common form of progressive hair loss in men. As the name suggests, AGA is genetic in nature and causes hair to thin gradually starting with the hairline.

MSD added that according to the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), 50 percent of all males by age 40, or essentially two out of three men in their lifetime, will suffer from AGA.

“An implication of this statistic is that plenty of men are also susceptible to self-appearance and self-esteem issues, even anxiety and stress, over their hair loss,” said Dr. Jun Bormate, a dermatologist and an expert on AGA told reporters.

“How society views and treats men with AGA is a huge factor in how they see themselves. But what men must also know, is that the condition is treatable and that they should seek medical attention as early as possible,” added Bormate.

According to MSD, its website would hopefully encourage Filipino men with AGA to look at their condition from another vantage.

“While AGA is indeed a treatable medical condition and not simply an inevitable part of aging, most men are not aware of that information. Only a startling two percent of the surveyed Filipino men were likely to visit a medical institution and seek help for hair loss. The most probable culprit for the statistic is the lack of information and education accessible to Filipino men,” said MSD in a statement.

MSD’s website not only contains useful information on AGA and hair loss, but also features a section with a list of doctors specializing on the condition.

“Savethehair. com. ph is a great place for men dealing with AGA to learn what medical treatments are available to them and even engage in discussions with others like them,” said Dr. Evan Payawal, MSD Philippine medical advisor.