Improve hair loss (baldness)
Hair loss is a health issue that many people are concerned about. It is related to appearance and self-confidence. It is estimated that nearly 50% of men and women are affected by different patterns of hair loss.
Nutrient deficiencies are often associated with chronic telogen effluvium, androgenetic alopecia, female pattern baldness, and patchy alopecia. While biotin is good for hair growth and strength, one of the main symptoms of a deficiency is hair loss.
A case study (with formula-fed infants deficient in biotin) indicated that biotin supplementation alleviated the symptoms of perioral dermatitis and patchy hairloss caused by the deficiency.
*Summary: The effect of D-Biotin on improving hair loss is unknown. Up to now, there is no complete clinical experiment to prove that in the absence of deficiency, additional supplementation can prevent or treat hair loss.
Improve brittle nails (BrittleNails)
Nail brittleness is a disease of abnormal nail structure. The main symptom is loss of elasticity and softness of the nails, accompanied by cracking, peeling and crushing. It is estimated that about 20% of the population is affected by this disease, and the incidence rate of women is higher than that of men. 2 times.
Nail brittleness is usually idiopathic (referring to unknown cause) and may be caused by skin or systemic diseases, nutritional deficiencies, drug use, or trauma.
In animal medicine, D-Biotin is often used to improve hoof defects or abnormalities in ungulates (such as horses, cattle and sheep).
Several human studies have also found that D-Biotin supplementation can help improve nail brittleness (63% to 91% of subjects reported improvement) and nail plate thickness.
The underlying mechanism has to do with improving the synthesis of lipid molecules needed to make nail plate keratinocytes.
*Summary: D-Biotin may have the effect of improving brittle nails, but due to the small scale of the study, more large-scale experiments with precise design are needed to confirm.
Improve diabetes
Diabetes is one of the oldest diseases in human history, first discovered in ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago.
The main pathogenic factors of diabetes are related to genes and life factors, such as lack of exercise, sedentary, smoking and drinking. Among them, obesity accounts for about 55% and is the most common pathogenic factor.
One small study found that blood biotin concentrations were generally lower in diabetic patients compared with healthy individuals, and that supplementation helped improve fasting blood glucose values.
Another double-blind controlled study pointed out (for a period of 90 days, the subjects were 447 diabetic patients with poor blood sugar control), compared with single drug treatment, the additional use of chromium and D-Biotin can have a better effect on blood sugar control (improved glycosylated hemoglobin and fasting blood glucose).
The underlying mechanism is related to factors such as D-Biotin’s promotion of glucose synthesis into fat, glucokinase secretion (promoting glycogen synthesis) and triggering insulin, so it is believed to help maintain blood sugar stability.
*Summary: The combined use of D-Biotin and chromium can make blood sugar control more efficient, but the effect of using it alone remains to be verified.
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease caused by progressive damage to the myelin sheath (which surrounds nerve fibers) in the brain or spinal cord, which in turn affects other parts of the body.
Depending on the affected part, possible symptoms include numbness of limbs, impaired vision, fatigue, slurred speech, and dizziness.
A preliminary small study pointed out that high doses of D-Biotin can help improve the clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis (slow down the progression of the disease and the degree of disability).
Another double-blind controlled study also found (12 months, 154 patients with multiple sclerosis), compared with placebo, high-dose D-Biotin (100? mg / three times a day) can help reduce disability State scale scores (ExpandedDisabilityStatusScale) and improved clinical impressions.
The underlying mechanism is related to the following two properties of D-Biotin.
A. Activate carboxylase (carboxylase), promote myelin repair (by increasing fatty acid synthesis)
B. Protects axons from hypoxia-induced degeneration (by boosting neuronal energy production)
*Summary: High doses of D-Biotin may help improve multiple sclerosis, but more experiments are needed to confirm.