Sperol™

By Aphios Corp.

An enhanced Saw Palmetto botanical drug for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia and male pattern baldness. By utilizing its patented SuperFluids™ CXF and CXP technologies, Aphios has developed an enhanced and standardized therapeutic composition of saw palmetto, called Sperol™, to inhibit the 5-alpha reductase enzyme [U.S. Patent]. Sperol™ is standardized by 5-alpha reductase inhibition, the same mechanism as the active pharmaceutical ingredient, finasteride, of Merck's Proscar® for BPH and Propecia® for male pattern baldness. In addition to being a treatment for BPH, other potential applications of Sperol™ include: - Male Pattern Baldness: Androgenetic alopecia can occur in both males and females. In men, hair loss generally occurs in the frontal, vertex and upper occipital regions of the scalp while sparing the posterior and lateral margins. The process may begin at any age after puberty, with temporal hair recession usually noted first. There is no actual loss of hair, but rather a conversion of thick thermal hairs to fine, unpigmented hairs. In women, the pattern of hair loss is generally more diffuse with thinning throughout the scalp. Women with elevated androgen levels, as occur in masculinizing disorders, have a balding pattern similar to that of men. Treatment generally focuses on blocking 5-α reductase, the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. - Hirsutism: The presence of excess hair in women is called hirsutism. This phenomenon is usually an androgen-dependent process. Approximately 25-35% of young women have terminal hair over the lower abdomen, around the nipples or over the upper lip. Most women gradually develop more androgen-dependent body hair with age. Nevertheless, normal patterns of female hair growth are unacceptable to many women. At the other extreme, severe hirsutism may rarely be the earliest sign of masculinizing diseases. More often, however, severe hirsutism reflects only increased androgen production in women with a non-serious underlying disorder. - Acne and Seborrhea: These are other diseases associated with 5-α reductase activity. The key to treating these diseases is the modulation of 5-α reductase activity.