Minoxidil is a drug used to treat high blood pressure under the brand name Loniten and pattern hair loss under the brand name Rogaine. It was initially developed in 1963 as a vasodilator for treating high blood pressure, it was FDA approved for that purpose in 1979. During clinical trials in the 1970's one of the side effects noted in a significant percentage of test subjects was unexpected hair growth; this led to the doctors running the trial to begin a new clinical trial in 1986 for treating hair loss. When minoxidil went on the market as a hypertension medication enough people noticed an increase in hair growth that by the mid 1980's a lot of physicians were prescribing it off-label for treating baldness. In August of 1988 minoxidil received FDA approval for treating baldness in men and in 1991 it was approved for use in women.
