Androgenetic Alopecia Treatment with Another Inhibitor Of Dihydrotestosterone

A randomized, active- and placebo-controlled study of the efficacy and safety of different doses of dutasteride versus placebo and finasteride in the treatment of male subjects with androgenetic alopecia.

Gubelin Harcha W, Barboza Martínez J, Tsai TF, Katsuoka K, Kawashima M, Tsuboi R, Barnes A, Ferron-Brady G, Chetty D.

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2014 Mar;70(3):489-498.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2013.10.049. Epub 2014 Jan 9.

• Dihydrotestosterone is the principal androgen causing androgenetic alopecia
• Dutasteride is a type 1 2, 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (finasteride is a  type 2 5-alpha reductase inhibitor)

• In this study, dutasteride (0.02, 0.1, or 0.5 mg/d) was compared with finasteride (1mg/d) in a randomized control trial done in 917 men aged 20 to 50.
• Results show that dutasteride at a dose of 0,5mg/d significantly increased hair count at week 24 compared with finasteride and placebo. Adverse effects were similar across treatment groups. The difference at 0.1 was not different to finasteride but was different than placebo

Conclusion: dutasteride may provide an alternative treatment option for men with androgenetic alopecia.

Contributors

Dr Christophe Hsu – dermatologist. Geneva, Switzerland