About Avacor

We searched the United States Food and Drug Administration, Physician's Desk Reference, Universities around the world and hundreds of Internet sites to give you layman's reports in plain English. We believe you should be fully informed before taking any drug. That includes the side effects that others don't talk about.

What is Avacor?

Avacor is a three part "hair care system" that is intended to re-grow hair. It consists of a DHT blocker, a topical solution and a scalp detoxifying shampoo. According to Response magazine, Avacor was the third best selling product on the Internet in April, 2002. It is manufactured by Global Vision Products.

What are the ingredients in Avacor?

The ingredients of Avacor seem to be mostly common herbs like Ginkgo biloba, bilberry, horsetail and others like chanomelis, lobellae, notoptcryll, tarakaci adenophorae, maidenhair tree, vaccinium myrtillus, equisetum and 2, 4-diamino-6-piperidino-pyrimidine-3-oxide (That long bold listing is the chemical name for minoxidil).

The names used for the herbs seem to be archaic, obscure and sometimes misspelled. This can be very misleading.

How does Avacor work - or does it?

The only herb related to growing hair we could find may be the "Sabal Serulate." According to Google, this may be a misspelling of Sabal serrulata, or saw palmetto. A number of studies have been done that suggest saw palmetto inhibits the production of DHT, like Propecia. But, unlike Propecia, it has never been proven to stop or reverse hair loss.

The only ingredient we could find in Avacor clinically proven to help grow hair was the minoxidil. If that was the only thing about Avacor to promote hair growth, it would be very expensive minoxidil. But there is something else Avacor has going for it.

When Rogaine was studied (active ingredient is minoxidil), 16% of the placebo group had measurable new hair growth. Four out of twenty-five people had real, measurable hair growth when they believed they were using something that worked. State of mind is a powerful thing.

Global Vision's proof comes in the form of a "study." Ask for a copy of the study and they say it will be sent to you with your order.

The Study

Sent only with your order, you get an impressive looking study titled, "The Biological Effects of Combined Herbal Oral and Topical Formulations on Androgenetic Alopecia" and lists the authors as R. Ortiz, M.D. and D.J. Carlisi, M.D.. Global Vision's president, Mr. Imbriolo, is listed as an herbal medicine consultant.

We see a few flaws in this study:

1. We haven't been able to find a single place where this "study" has been published.

2. There is nothing about the control group (if any) in this "study."

3. The graph that is shown in the "study" lacks hair growth measurements. It looks like it represents more people reporting hair growth over time, but it really shows more people buying Avacor.

4. The study is not peer reviewed.

5. The study is not double-blind.

6. We did not find the ingredients of Avacor listed in the study, either for the "Herbal Based Topical Formulation" or the "Herbal Oral Medication."

7. They say it is all natural and that it has no side effects. What about the minoxidil? Certainly not natural and it does have side effects.

According to the "study," Avacor has a 90 percent success rate. Really?
We didn't find any evidence to support that claim! Certainly not in their study.

Who is Dr. Gordon?

He seems to be a guy in his mid to late 50's with a healthy head of white hair, that he says, he re-grew over six years with the help of Avacor.

We found that this doctor did go to medical school. He graduated in 1975 as a radiologist from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Mexico.

According to the New York State Department of Health, Dr. Gordon is no longer licensed to practice medicine because of his involvement in a scam run on Medicaid involving over a million dollars worth of fake sonograms. He did time in the Queensboro Correctional Facility in New York for that scam.

Mr. Imbriolo, Global Vision's president, was sued in 1987 by Upjohn (manufacturer of Rogaine) for patent infringement. His defense was that he wasn't really making Rogaine, but buying it, mixing it with other ingredients and reselling the result.

Note that the active ingredient in Rogaine is minoxidil.

If that wasn't enough, the FDA has banned the marketing of all over-the-counter hair-growth products, except those approved by the agency's New Drug Application process. Avacor has not passed this process, nor has it been approved by the FDA.

One last point: If Avacor is completely safe with no side effects, why does the fine print on the bottles warn that users should discontinue using it if they experience symptoms such as "chest pain, rapid heartbeat, faintness, dizziness, suddenly unexpected weight gain."

Note: All bottles of minoxidil have the same warnings.

Order Avacor?

No, if you haven't guessed by now, we NOT recommend Avacor.

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This website is protected by copyright © 2002-2007 Askdocweb, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This is a layman's report on Avacor and is not intended to replace discussions with a healthcare provider. Do not use this information as a substitute for your doctor's advice. Always consult your doctor before taking any drug and follow your doctor's directions. Source material: United States Food and Drug Administration, Medline, Physician's Desk Reference, Universities and people just like you who are concerned about the side effect of health products.