The Father is responsible for the Sex of the Child - Whether he donates "x" or "y" Chromosomes 

24 Chromosomes from each combine to make a child. The permutations and combinations run into perhaps Lakhs which is why even Twins differ from one another in some ways. One is born with certain 'traits' / features  because of the chromosomes donated equally by the parents. These are called the Hereditary Traits

My definition slightly more stringent. A Hereditary Baldy is one whose father, his elder brother, or paternal grandfather are also Bald / were bald

1]    Text Book of Dermatology:  IV Edition : 1986
              Edited by Arthur Rook  & others, Blackwell Scientific Publications.  Page 1964:
              This is a  4  volume Dermatological Manual

"Androgenic Alopecia is induced, as its name implies, by Androgenic Stimulation of Hair Follicles predisposed to the response by the interdependent influences of Genetic Factors and of aging"

2]   Roxburgh's  'Common Skin Diseases',  16th Edition: Editor E. Marks:
              Published in 1993 by Chapman Hall Medical Publication.    Page 272

" Male Pattern Alopecia  is a progressive form of Alopecia (commonly inherited).  It progresses symmetrically at certain specific sites on the Scalp. Eventually it causes complete Scalp Hair loss in some patients and mostly with Men. It has to be categorically stated that currently there is no Medical Treatment for Male Pattern Alopecia"

This is a Standard Dermatological Text Book on its 16th edition. 17th edition also has similar wordings as per my recollection. Further editions must be out by now. This is a book for Medical Students

 In  the Allopathic / Ayurvedic Books mentioned in the Bibliography, similar views can be found. Hakeem Abdul, Head of Hamdard Dawakhana and Laboratories and author of the book 'Home Remedies' published by Orient Paperpacks, holds similar views

Note the Triumph of Swapna:  All these persons were partially bald. No one had less than 5 cms /2 inches diameter bald patch. Baldness has set in firmly with all. The first case is mine and the details are in Invention page. The last one, was No 5 in the Hamilton's baldness scale. Despite being in the academic field, he had misplaced the comparative photos taken of him. He was an irregular user till the photos jolted him. By then, he has left Ahmedabad for a better position elsewhere.

Even if all the above users referred to us years after the problem started and were bald, Swapna had favourable impact on their heads within weeks. 

How does an external cream alter 'heredity'. It cannot.  Females have been ignored as Hereditary does not, in my opinion, affect them. Our findings also support this view

Minoxidil Results

Minoxidil 2% solution is the first FDA approved Hair Regain Formulation. It was heralded as a
Break-Through product for Regain of Hair around 1985. Unfortunately for the Depleting Heads, it did notfulfill the initial euphoria. 

Now let us know the position of Minoxidil from one Dermatological Book 

Source: Recent Advances in Dermatology; Book No 8
Editors: R.H. Champion  & R.J.Pye; Churchill Livingstone; 1990 

Male pattern alopecia - selected sentences only 

     "...The Question recently has not been so much as to whether there is statistically significant regrowth of  hair with topical Minoxidil but rather whether this regrowth is biologically significant ( De Groot et al 1987). 

     "Olsen, who reported the first dose response studies of topical minoxidil (Olsen et al 1986), has recently reported on the long term follow up results in men with male pattern alopecia whom she has now treated  for nearly 3 years. In only 4.9% of these patients was the result assessed as ' moderate'.  82.9% of patients having 'minimal response.'......" 

     .."Even those without obvious gain may however derive some benefit in that minoxidil may slow the rate  of Hair loss and  hair shedding rates frequently rise when such  'non -responders'  discontinue topical  minoxidil usage."... 

     " Hair regrowth induced by topical minoxidil is lost once the drug is stopped".. 

     " Published results on the treatment of androgenic alopecia with topical Minoxidil in women are so far  incomplete".... 

     Dr. Olsen's 1987 remark, quoted above, says that Minoxidil's long term impact [3 years] was moderate in 4.9% of Male Pattern Alopecia Cases. Androgenic is another term for Hereditary 

     Let us turn this around. Minoxidil overtook Heredity / Male Pattern Alopecia in 4.9 % Cases.  Its impact is minimal and not zero or negative in 82% Cases. So the Results show that even if Minoxidil is not the Cure as expected, it has some impact on Male Pattern Alopecia  / altering  the Hair growth 

     How can a topical lotion wipe out Heredity from the Head ?  It cannot. But Minoxidil has done it in 4.9% of the cases as per Dr.Olsen's study of  3 years usage results of Minoxidil. 

The Term Alopecia  is derived from the Greek or Latin term for Foxes. That partly explains why we are all really foxed even today on this subject

 [ Dr. Olsen's initial favourable report of 1985 and not the 1987 report based on 3 years' study of Minoxidil was used by Torrent Pharmaceuticals in their informative note to Doctors - feeding wrong information ?]

Propecia, a Hair Regain Product, is a Branded / trademark / patented product of E.Merck. It containsFinasteride. Currently, it appears to be the most popular Hair Regain Product in the World. Kindly visit the company's  site for more details: The url is http://www.propecia.com

Reprint of  AP report by Times of India, Ahmedabad dt 27-12-97 - Selected quotes:

 ...." The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that it approved Propecia, the first pill for Male Pattern Baldness, a potential way for men both to grow hair and to stop existing strands from falling out"...

..." For men, Propecia is not a miracle pill. About half who use it, grow varying amounts of hair and men may have to use it for six months to a year before they learn whether they  are among the half that benefits,  Washenik said"..

1]      Aristotle commented in 3rd BC that Eunuchs do not become Bald. That is true. But why they do not become Bald is not known even today. It is an unsolved riddle. Is that not a significant gap?

2]     The Mongols do not become Bald early compared to many other races. Why ? No deep Research has been done so far to find the clue.

3]     The Chinese become balder a bit late in their lives compared to Indians. Is there an explanation ? None. The Indians and the Chinese account for 40% of the total World Population. Is there any detailed research about their history or Chemistry. None.

Research has been done with a limited / selected section of the affluent West - Europeans, Americans and Hispanic people. Those results are superimposed on the World. All these factors should indicate the extent of gaps in Research done so far

My Doctor has an Indian and West German degrees. Heredity, he promptly said. I told him that neither my father, elder brother nor my mother had cataract at that time. The Doctor retracted his "expert opinion". I was not keen to listen to his subsequent explanations. Mussolini did the same. Refer 'awake'

Heredity is the most convenient and easily acceptable answer  for uncomfortable questions. It is used as the shield - and it is easy and excusable to overlook the other causes