Dutasteride/Avodart inhibits
DHT to Stop Hair Loss
How Dutasteride/Avodart
Works
The FDA approved Avodart
as a drug to treat prostrate enlargement in men in 2002.
Avodart is the brand name for dutasteride in 0.5 mg
dosage. Like finesteride, it inhibits DHT, and therefore
allows for hair growth.
Short term results were
encouraging but dutasteride have not been specifically
tested for treatment of male pattern hair loss. Hence
there is no official approval for dutasteride or Avodart
for hair loss treatment.
Similar to finesteride,
dutasteride iinhibits the enzyme 5AR which converts
testosterone to DHT. However, it inhibits both types
of enzymes instead of one in the case of finesteride.
This makes dutasteride more potent but also with heightened
potential side effects.
At the dosage of 0.5
mg per day, dutasteride decreases serum DHT by 91 percent
and scalp DHT by 54 percent. 5 mg of finesteride, which
is considered a high dosage, only decreases DHT by 71
percent and scalp DHT by 38 percent. It would therefore
seem to make dutasteride a more potent drug than finesteride
for hair loss. On the other hand the type of 5AR that
dutasteride blocks is not present in significant quantity
in the hair follicle. Therefore without further studies,
it is difficult to determine if dutasteride is more
effective than finesteride.
How well does dutasteride
work?
A study was conducted
on 416 men in 2006. The subjects received either dutasteride
in doses of 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, or 2.5 mg, finesteride of
5 mg, or placebo. This was done daily over a period
of 24 weeks. The results show that the hair count for
men on dutasteride increased more than those on finesteride
or placebo.
Further, daily doses
of 2.5 mg of dutasteride was found to be more effective
than 5 mg of finesteride. Scalp and serum DHT levels
decreased while testosterone levels increased.
A smaller study was published
in 2007. It compared the effectiveness of dutasteride
to that of placebo in the treatment of andogenetic alopecia
(male pattern hair loss) in 17 pairs of identical twins
over a one-year period. One of the twins from each pair
received 0.5 mg of dutasteride per day while the other
received a placebo.
At the end of the study,
there were significant difference between those that
took dutasteride and those that did not in 15 out of
the 17 sets of twins. The study concluded that dutasteride
significantly improves hair growth and reduces hair
loss progression in men with male pattern hair loss.
Side effects of dutasteride
Compared to finesteride,
dutasteride is associated with greater incidences of
sexual side effects. It was investigated in controlled
multicenter studies involving men agedd 50 and above
with prostate enlargement. During the first 6 months,
the drug-related side effects included impotence, decreased
libido, semen volume, and breast tenderness and breast
enlargement. However, most of the sexual side effects
decreased with time in the study, but the breast tenderness
and enlargement, although the least occurred amongst
the side effects, remained constant throughout the treatment
period.
Another side effect revealed
in more recent cases, is that the sperm count drops
significantly.
Like for finesteride,
the amount of PSA is reduced which must be taken into
account when you are examined for prostate cancer.
Women who are pregnant
or has the potential to become pregnant should also
not handle dutesteride to avoid risk to a male fetus.
Dutesteride also stays
in the blood stream far longer than finesteride. The
half life of dutesteride is 5 weeks as compared to 8
hours for finesteride. Hence patience on dutesteride
should not donate blood for at least 6 months after
they stop taking the drug.
Continue with the following
links for more detailed information on prescription
drugs and medications.
|
.gif)
