Many discoveries are well known to be accidental, an inadvertent effect when looking for something else. That is certainly true when it comes to drug therapies and the pharmaceutical industry is full of examples. When it comes to drugs used for cosmetic enhancements, there are two hair-raising illustrations of this beneficial side effect phenomenon. Rogaine (generically known as Minoxidil) has been around for decades as a topical hair growth treatment. Its origins, however, were in the treatment of high blood pressure as an oral pill. (Loniten) It improved high blood pressure that didn’t respond to other medications by its vasodilating effects, opening up blood vessels. Its inadvertent side effect, hair growth, is believed to be the result of the same effect. A more recent example of an accidental cosmetic drug is Latisse (known generically as Bimatoprost), now well known as a topical treatment to promote eyelash hair growth. But its origins is as an ophthalmic drop for the treatment of glaucoma (Lumigan) as it reduces the pressure in the eye. How it lengthen’s the eyelash growth phase is not yet understood.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana