Hi there, David! I know that You and I discuss hairloss on occasion, therefore, I wanted to pass along an article that I read. I originally found the link on baldingblog.com
I think that I will ask my Doctor if he will prescribe the 2.5mg capsules the next time that I visit.
Here is the article:::
Department of Dermatology, Warsaw Medical School, Warsaw, Poland. malgorzataolszewska@yahoo.com
Dihydrotestosterone is the main molecule responsible for androgenic alopecia. Finasteride, which reduces transformation of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone and decreases dihydrotestosterone activity, is approved for treatment of androgenic alopecia in men. We describe the case of a 46-year-old woman with androgenic alopecia, non-responsive to minoxidil, who initially benefited from finasteride. Due to only limited improvement after finasteride and persisting profound psychological distress resulting from androgenic alopecia, another 5-reductase inhibitor, dutasteride, was introduced. Clinical evaluation and trichogram were applied for assessment of dutasteride efficacy in this patient. Additionally, mean hair diameter was monitored by means of computer dermoscopy. After 6 months of therapy, significant improvement was observed and after 9 months the clinical diagnosis of androgenic alopecia could no longer be made in this patient. No side effects were observed. In conclusion, theoretical data and our experience in this case show that dutasteride might develop into a true alternative in treatment of androgenic alopecia.
Best wishes,
Jeffrey.
I, Jeffrey, posted the article. Sorry :)
Well, I did a search on this, as I hadn't heard about this for hair loss. I did find some interesting information at Wikipedia (link below). Though clinical trials are underway, this drug does not yet have approval for MPB. And, according to dutasteride.com/, the current drug for treating BPH are gel-caps, which you can't divide like you can the Proscar 5mg pills. There is also a question as to whether both kinds of inhibitors are as effective as the one in finasteride, which targets hair follicle. The other kind appears to effect sebaceous glands. More good hair news for those dealing with MPB, with another product on the market.
Carol
Dutasteride
Hi Jeffrey,
I'm just checking in to the MLHH early in the morning before my daily golf game, and saw your post. Hopefully, Avodart (Dutasteride) will eventually be FDA approved for the treatment of hair loss. When I saw my dermatologist in May, he would not prescribe this due to the lack of FDA approval for this purpose, the only medication he would approve is the propecia (finasteride) I am on now. My preference would be to be on Avodart, as the impression I get is that it is a better drug. (I have believed this all along, after seeing how well it is working for you)
I see that you are contemplating the 2.5 mg capsules, is this a daily dose, I assume this could get quite expensive? However, if it is truly successful, perhaps it is worth it. I have not had a chance to read the article yet that you mentioned, I'm in a bit of a rush now, but will have a look when I get home later on.
Hopefully, additional research that I have been hearing about that an actual cure for MPB may be in the cards in the upcoming years will actually bear fruit, putting an end to hair loss once and for all. Fell free to email me privately about this if you wish.
Take care,
David
David, you ask a very good question: "is this a daily dose" Well, I'm not really sure, perhaps I should have read the article a bit better, however, I question as to why the .5mg dose is a daily dose, considering the very long half life of the drug.
Thanks for pointing that out.
I should mention that dutasteride is not a cure for MPHL, as I still have a receding hairline. It's just a little more fuzzy around the edges now.
Jeffrey.
my mother has alopeica(sp)and recently she's been trying something out for about six months, so far, it's done nothing..