A Novel Effect of Acyclovir on Hair Growth in BALB/c Mice: A Promising Future for Finding a New Topical Drug for the Treatment of Hirsutism

Figures & data

Figure 1 Effect of topical acyclovir on hair growth on different treatment days. BALB/c mice were shaved and received topically applied vehicle or acyclovir for 28 days, the control group did not receive anything (n = 8 for each group). Photographs were taken every week after applying acyclovir or vehicle on the shaved dorsal skin. Less white coloration was observed in acyclovir-treated mice than vehicle and control.

Table 1 Effect of Acyclovir on Qualitative Hair Growth

Groups	Hair Growth Initiation Time (Days)	Hair Growth Completion Time (Days)
Control	11 ± 0.57	18 ± 0.68
Vehicle	12±0.84	19±1.41
Acyclovir 5%	17±0.45^***,###	Not complete at the end of the 28th day

Note: Values are mean ± SD, n = 8, ***P < 0.001, significance versus control, ^###P < 0.001, significance versus vehicle.

Table 2 Effect of Acyclovir on Hair Length of Mice

Group	Length of Hair (mm)
	Day 14	Day 21	Day 28
Control group	3.5±0.8	7.4±1.2	11±0.2
Vehicle group	3.7±0.3	6.9±0.8	10±0.1
Acyclovir group	1.1±08^***,^###	3.7±0.6^***,###	5.5±0.05^***,###

Note: Values are mean ± SD, n = 8, ***P < 0.001, significance versus control, ^###P < 0.001, significance versus vehicle. (n = 25 hairs).

Figure 2 Weight of hair per cm² area of dorsal skin after 28 days. Values are the mean ± SD of eight mice. ***p < 0.001 (one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s test).

Figure 3 Longitudinal and transverse sections of dorsal skin specimens of different treatment groups stained with H&E at the end of the 28th day. The number of hair follicles in deep subcutis can be observed. The image shown is the representative picture of 8 mice. Bars: 100 µm. Topical acyclovir decreased the number of hair follicles.

Figure 4 Number (A) and diameter (B) of hair follicles in deep subcutis. Values are the mean ± SD of eight mice. ***p < 0.001 (one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s test).