Dutasteride for Hair Loss

admin    Dutasteride, Hair Loss Treatments    

Dutasteride is most often marketed under the brand names of Avodart, Avidart, Avolve, Duagen, Dutas, Dutagen and Duprost.  While Dutasteride is only approved by the FDA for treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, during both clinical trials and through reports of men using the product, it has shown significant results in relation to hair loss.  At one point there was ongoing research along with clinical trials but in 2002 they came to a halt.  It is unclear why trials ceased but it is a common belief that perhaps there was a conflict with Finasteride.

Clinical Results of Dutasteride in Hair Loss Patients

This particular drug belongs to a class that blocks the enzymes which convert testosterone to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT).  It is known that DHT is responsible for shrinking the hair follicle and causing it to eventually disintegrate altogether.  An excessive amount of DHT is the ultimate cause of some forms of hair loss, most especially Male Pattern Baldness.  While the drug was developed to treat enlargement of the prostate gland, it showed promise in treatment of hair loss.  The beauty of Dutasteride in relation to blocking the 5-alpha-reductase enzymes is that it inhibits both Type I as well as Type II, whereas Finasteride only inhibits Type II.  This would make it a much more effective treatment if it were approved by the FDA.  The actual clinical results are quite interesting.  In men between the ages of 21 and 45, it was found that 2.5 mg of Dutasteride (avg. increase of 109.6 hairs) was far superior to 5 mg of Finasteride (avg. increase of 75.6 hairs).  That’s a significant difference and at half the dosage!

Off-Label Prescriptions of Dutasteride

While Dutasteride has only been approved for the treatment of BPH by the Food and Drug Administration, there is nothing whatsoever to stop physicians from prescribing it for what is referred to as “off-label” prescriptions.  This is a practice that is common in the United States and many other countries where a prescription medication has shown significant results in areas for which it wasn’t developed.  During clinical trials there are times when beneficial side effects become apparent.  If the drug is found to be safe and free from dangerous side effects then a physician is free to prescribe it as a treatment for those side effects, in this case as a treatment for hair loss.  The FDA has no authority to rule over physicians so once they approve a medicine for use, doctors are free to prescribe that pharmaceutical for off-label treatments.  This is the case with Dutasteride.

The end result is that Dutasteride, while not actually approved for hair loss, can effectively treat it and is doing so currently because there are doctors who are prescribing it as an off-label treatment.  Remember, it is solely up to the discretion of the physician because the FDA has absolutely no authority over doctors.  The FDA can only approve or disapprove medications, but once they are released a doctor is free to prescribe them for off-label treatments.

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