New marine extract containing food supplement tested for treatment of hereditary androgenic alopecia in young males

A controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study by Department for Dermatological Research, ARS-Medicina, Helsinki, Finland, compared the effects of Viviscal® (a new food supplement incorporating special marine extracts and a silica compound) with those of a fish extract in the treatment of young males with hereditary androgenic alopecia. The pretreatment histological diagnosis was alopecia with a mild to moderate perifollicular inflammation zone. The study consisted of 20 subjects who received two tablets of Viviscal® once daily and 20 who received two tablets of fish extract once daily for 6 months.

After 6 months’ treatment, patients receiving Viviscal® showed a mean increase in non-vellus hair of 38% compared with a 2% increase in the fish extract treatment group (P<0.0001). In the Viviscal group, 19 (95%) subjects showed both clinical and histological cure, whereas none treated with fish extract showed any clinical or histological difference after 6 months’ treatment (P <0.0001).

More info