Topical Eflornithine

Excerpt

Treatment of hirsutism can be difficult and stressful because of the need to take systemic drugs, or to use expensive mechanical therapies, for prolonged periods without (at least in most patients) definitive results. A possible alternative is to use topical therapy. In the past the use of topical antiandrogens has been suggested, but without significant results. Recently, good results in localized hirsutism have been reported using eflornithine, an inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase (an enzyme that has a major role in the biosynthesis of polyamines). While eflornithine was initially developed for the treatment of trypanosomal sleeping sickness, its topical administration slows hair follicle growth probably by inhibiting keratin protein synthesis. …