Dutasteride Reduces Hair Loss in Male Pattern Baldness
THURSDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- Dutasteride can reduce hair loss and stimulate hair growth in individuals with male pattern baldness, according to the results of a twin study published in the March issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
Dow Stough, M.D., of The Dermatology Clinic in Hot Springs, Ariz., compared the effect of dutasteride (a testosterone 5-alpha reductase type 2 inhibitor) to placebo on hair loss in 17 pairs of genetically identical white twin males with male pattern hair loss. One twin received the drug, and one received placebo. Medication was administered for one year, and subjects were assessed at baseline and at six and 12 months.
At six months, there were, on average, 11 fewer hairs in a 1-cm2 target circle in the placebo group, and seven more hairs in the dutasteride group; at 12 months, there were four fewer hairs in the controls, versus 16 more hairs in the experimental group. At 12 months, expert evaluation of scalp photographs characterized the dutasteride group as "slightly improved" relative to the placebo group, and at six months, all but one of the twin sets that completed the study could correctly identify their treatment.
"This study supports previously published trials showing that dutasteride significantly improves scalp hair growth based on assessments of standardized clinical photographs, hair count, and patients' assessments of their scalp hair," the author writes.
