S14 THE VALUE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS: RESULTS OF A DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO CONTROLLED STUDY WITH ORAL COMBINATION OF CYSTINE, YEAST AND PANTOTHENIC ACID
Trüeb RM1, Lengg N1, Heidecker B1, Seifert B2
1Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland
2Department of Biostatistics, Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Zurich

L-cystine-based nutrients in combination with medicinal yeast and pantothenic acid (CYP complex) are traditionally used OTC products for treatment of hair loss. To examine the effect of a specific CYP complex-based nutrient (Pantogar®) on hair loss in otherwise healthy women, we conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study over 6 months in women suffering from telogen effluvium. Inclusion criteria were a history of increased hair loss, with or without clinical findings of female pattern hair loss Ludwig types I or II, and a centroparietal telogen hair rate > 20 %. Objective measurement of hair growth was performed combining epiluminescence microscopy with digital image analysis. Active compound (Pantogar®) led to a statistically significant improvement of the anagen hair rate within 6 months of treatment, while there was no significant change with placebo. These changes of the anagen hair rate were significantly different. In contrast, the hair count, hair density and cumulative hair shaft diameter showed no significant changes from the baseline values in either group. Nevertheless, the changes in anagen hair rate were sufficient to reflect in clinical outcome. The appearance of hair growth in the global photographic assessment was judged better in the active compound than in the placebo group. Finally, regression analysis was carried out to determine the influence of age, serum ferritin levels above the lower limit of 10 ?g/l, and presence or not of female pattern hair loss Ludwig types I and II on the change in anagen hair rate from baseline to close-out. Regression analysis did not show any effect of age, presence of visible hair thinning in the vertex areas, and serum ferritin levels on changes in anagen hair rate. In conclusion, this is the first study performed combining epiluminescence microscopy with digital image analysis to demonstrate that a CYP-complex-based nutrient influences hair growth. The mode of action is not known, but it seems to result from an induction of anagen.