Avodart/Dutasteride

[Jarrod]

Does Avodart/Dutasteride also help with hair loss? Just wondering if anyone knew. Thanks!

[davesolazzo]

Yes it does help with hair loss although it is not yet FDA approved for hair loss. have you tried propecia yet? if you've tried propecia and given it a year and it didnt work for you, then maybe i would start thinking about avodart. but i wouldnt try avodart untill you've given propecia a try. hope that helps...

[SpencerKobren]

I think that’s good advice Dave. Avodart should always be a last resort. The side effects of Avodart occurred in a higher percentage of those tested in clinical trials than in those treated with Propecia. Also these side effects apparently last longer since the half life of the drug is significantly longer.

Based on clinical studies most common Avodart side effects include:

Erectile dysfunction (ED) or impotence -- up to 4.7%
A decreased libido (sex drive) -- up to 3 percent%
Abnormal ejaculation, including decreased ejaculate amount -- up to 1.4 %
Breast enlargement or breast tenderness -- up to 1.1 %

In my opinion, Avodart works very well for the prevention and treatment of hair loss but should be prescribed only when Propecia and Proscar have failed to help.

[Jarrod]

I may give this a try, since Propecia/Proscar didn't help me. I'll have to ask my doctor next time I go if he can give me a prescription for Avodart. Hopefully it won't give me any side effects if I take it.

Thanks for the info guys. I appreciate it!

[JustJoe]

Measure it

I may give this a try, since Propecia/Proscar didn't help me. I'll have to ask my doctor next time I go if he can give me a prescription for Avodart. Hopefully it won't give me any side effects if I take it.

Thanks for the info guys. I appreciate it!

Jarrod, you would benefit greatly from getting a "baseline" measurement of your hair density and caliber...........then..... after 6 & 12 months later see if there is any change. Otherwise, you're just trying to guess.

[SpencerKobren]

Hey Jarrod,

Heres a great article on on the subject that can be found on IAHRS member Dr. Robert Bernstein's Website:

Here's the direct link: http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/reso...inasteride.php


Dutasteride vs. Finasteride

The importance of dual 5a-reductase inhibition in the treatment of male pattern hair loss.

Olsen E. et. al. SUMMARY

In the study, 416 men with male pattern hair loss (MPHL) ages 21 to 45 years old, were randomized to receive dutasteride 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 or 2.5 mg, finasteride 5 mg, or placebo daily for 24 weeks. The results of the study showed that dutasteride increased hair counts in a dose-dependent fashion and dutasteride 2.5 mg was superior to finasteride 5mg at 12 and 24 weeks.

Although testosterone is the major circulating androgen, to be maximally active in scalp hair follicles it must first be converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by the enzyme 5α-reductase. The importance of DHT as a causative factor in male pattern hair loss is shown by the absence of this MPHL in men with a congenital deficiency of the type 2 5α-reductase enzyme. A type 1 5α-reductase, which also metabolizes testosterone to DHT, differs in its location and amount in different tissues. In the skin, type 1 5α-reductase is the principal isoenzyme in sebaceous and sweat glands. There is no recognized genetic deficiency of type 1 5α-reductase in humans to assess its role in MPHL.

Dutasteride (Avodart) inhibits both type 1 and type 2 5α-reductase and is approved at the 0.5-mg dose for treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). It is about 3 times as potent as finasteride at inhibiting type 2 5α-reductase and more than 100 times as potent at inhibiting the type 1 5α-reductase enzyme.

Dutasteride caused scalp and serum dihydrotestosterone levels to decrease and testosterone levels to increase in a dose-dependent fashion. Whereas 5-mg finasteride decreases serum DHT by about 70%, dutasteride can decrease serum DHT by more than 90%.

Results
In this phase II, dose-ranging study, 2.5-mg dutasteride was superior to 5-mg finasteride in improving scalp hair growth in men between ages 21 and 45 years with MPHL as judged by target area hair counts, expert panel assessment, and investigator assessment at 12 and 24 weeks.

In a test area at 24 weeks, results showed:
Placebo −32.3 hairs
Finasteride 5mg 75.6 hairs
Dutasteride 0.1 mg 78.5 hairs
Dutasteride 0.5 mg 94.6 hairs
Dutasteride 2.5 mg 109.6 hairs

Dutasteride 2.5mg vs. 0.5mg
The 2.5-mg dutasteride dose was consistently superior to 0.5-mg dutasteride in promoting scalp hair growth. The 2.5-mg dose was also better than the 0.5-mg dose at suppressing scalp DHT (79% vs. 51%), whereas it was only marginally better at suppressing serum DHT (96% vs. 92%). This difference in the dose-response of serum and scalp DHT to inhibition with dutasteride is likely to be due to the greater contribution of type 1 5α-reductase to scalp DHT concentrations.

Finasteride 5mg vs. Dutasteride 0.1mg
5 mg finasteride suppressed scalp DHT to a similar degree as 0.1 mg dutasteride group (41% and 32%, respectively). Many of the clinical effects (hair count changes, global panel assessment, and investigator assessment) were also similar in these two groups, supporting the similarity in scalp suppression between 5-mg finasteride and 0.1-mg dutasteride.

Adverse Effects
Both dutasteride and finasteride were well tolerated in this phase II study, and no new safety concerns have arisen in any of the phase II and phase III studies of dutasteride given at doses up to 5 mg daily (the 5-mg dose was used in a phase II study for BPH).

There were no significant differences in side effects, serious adverse events, or withdrawals due to adverse events among any of the treatment groups, including placebo. In total, 11 subjects withdrew because of adverse events: 3 were in the placebo group (irritable bowel syndrome and impotency), 7 in the dutasteride 0.1 mg group (decreased libido, malaise and fatigue, mood disorders, skin disorders, injuries caused by trauma, and gastrointestinal- and neurology-related complaints) and 1 in the dutasteride 0.5 mg group (gastrointestinal discomfort and pain).

Decreased libido was noted in:
2 subjects in the placebo group
2 subjects in each of the 0.05-mg and 0.1-mg dutasteride groups
1 subject in the 0.5-mg dutasteride group
9 subjects in the 2.5 mg dutasteride group
3 subjects in the finasteride group

Of the 9 subjects with decreased libido in the 2.5-mg dutasteride group:
4 resolved while receiving therapy
1 resolved within 3 weeks
1 resolved within 8 weeks of stopping drug therapy
1 subject, decreased libido continued after therapy had been stopped and was presumed by the subject to be unrelated to the trial or drug therapy

Concerning possible sexual adverse events, there was no evidence in the present study that either dutasteride or finasteride was associated with impotence. However, 9 men in the 2.5-mg dutasteride group complained of decreased libido, compared with 1 man in the 0.5-mg dutasteride group and 3 men in the finasteride group. As with previous studies with finasteride, this adverse event was characterized as either mild or moderate in severity and often resolved with continuation of the medication. In the 4-year follow-up of the phase III trials in BPH, dutasteride (0.5 mg) was well tolerated and the incidence of the most common sexual adverse events was low and tended to decrease over time.

The only subject to develop gynecomastia was in the placebo group.

Duration of Effects
The serum half-life of finasteride is 6 to 8 hours. Dutasteride has a serum half-life of approximately 4 weeks, and this long half-life was evident in the persistent suppression of DHT with the 0.5-mg and 2.5-mg doses after dutasteride treatment was stopped. Because of this long half-life, men being treated with dutasteride should not donate blood until at least 6 months past their last dose to prevent administration to a pregnant female transfusion recipient.

[Jarrod]

Thanks for the info Spencer. I really want to give this a try. I just hope I don't get any side effects if I take it. I didn't get any side effects from Propecia or Proscar. So maybe if I try this it will work out. I'll have to ask my doctor next time I see him.

[Philip]

I've heard a great deal about Dutasteride. But, how can you obtain it? Can it be purchased without prescription? Or is it only available for the ones who have a doctor who AGREES to prescribe it?

Thanks

[Jarrod]

Well I asked my doctor for Avodart and he said no. So I guess I'll just have to deal with going bald. My hair loss has gotten a lot worse lately. I can just barely hide my thinning spots now.

[Philip]

Well I asked my doctor for Avodart and he said no. So I guess I'll just have to deal with going bald. My hair loss has gotten a lot worse lately. I can just barely hide my thinning spots now.

Doctors tend to say "no", mostly not to get into any trouble! But, isn't people out there ordering it on-line? Also, do they know whether they have ordered (on-line) the actual product? How can they verify whether or not they have ordered the TRUE Avodart?

[amadeus]

Doctors tend to say "no", mostly not to get into any trouble! But, isn't people out there ordering it on-line? Also, do they know whether they have ordered (on-line) the actual product? How can they verify whether or not they have ordered the TRUE Avodart?

I would never trust ordering from on online pharmacy that does not ask for a scanned or faxed prescription. I believe that these places that give you a quickie prescription and then sell you whatever you want are shady. They might even be selling counterfeit drugs.

[Philip]

I would never trust ordering from on online pharmacy that does not ask for a scanned or faxed prescription. I believe that these places that give you a quickie prescription and then sell you whatever you want are shady. They might even be selling counterfeit drugs.

Then, where do you find a non-dermatologist doctor to prescribe Avodart for you? Your personal physician does not want to get himself/herself in problems?

Or, is there a (short) list of physicians who can see you and prescribe that medicine for hair loss treatment?

[amadeus]

Then, where do you find a non-dermatologist doctor to prescribe Avodart for you? Your personal physician does not want to get himself/herself in problems?

Or, is there a (short) list of physicians who can see you and prescribe that medicine for hair loss treatment?

I would contact every IAHRS doctor www.iahrs.org in my area and see who prescribes Avodart. Then I would have a proper meeting with them so that they can check me out. At least this way I would be under a doctor's care and know that I'm getting the real McCoy.

[SpencerKobren]

Then, where do you find a non-dermatologist doctor to prescribe Avodart for you? Your personal physician does not want to get himself/herself in problems?

Or, is there a (short) list of physicians who can see you and prescribe that medicine for hair loss treatment?

Hey Philip,

Are you currently taking Propecia or have you ever tried it?

[Philip]

Hey Philip,

Are you currently taking Propecia or have you ever tried it?

Thanks Spencer. I've been taking Propecia since about 2001 (or 2002). It has slowed down the 'hair loss process' but with its limitations. I've been using Topic to style my hair, but with the (slow) hair loss continuation, I don't know for how much longer Topic can still camouflage the areas with less hair.

So, I was willing to try Avodart to see if it can help. I'm in my early 40s and, chances are Avodart can have a greater positive effect than Propecia.

Thanks