From Hypertension To Hair Loss A failed high blood pressure medication ended up being a top-selling over-the-counter treatment for male pattern baldness. Although the pill did little to alleviate high blood pressure, it did have an interesting side effect: The men who took it began to grow back hair they had lost. A black market developed when people began grinding up the pills to create a topical hair treatment. As a result, the company that developed the pill, Upjohn Company, decided to perform trials of a topical treatment of Loniten mixed with propylene glycol and alcohol. On August 18, 1988, after the treatment (renamed minoxidil) was shown to work in about 60 percent of balding men, the Food and Drug Administration approved its use. Upjohn marketed the product as Rogaine.
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