Dutasteride
A new treatment which has been talked about by many of our visitors for many months has been shown to be more effective than Propecia for re-growing new hair!
Propecia has held the title as being the most effective clinically proven hair loss treatment on the market. With an 83% maintenance rate after 2 years use, it has helped us and millions to keep hold of their hair.
However, its relatively low success rate at regrowth has been a major point against it. Only 5% of users in the FDA trials saw moderate regrowth at the crown.
For myself, I have been pleased with the halting effect taking Propecia (1mg Finasteride) has given me, but we may all have something new to try that has been clinically proven to re-grow new hair.
Glaxo have recently announced that it had submitted a NDA (New Drug Application) to the FDA for Dutasteride for use with Benign Prostrate Hyperplasia. It is just a matter of time until it becomes available for MPB sufferers. We shall keep you posted with all the latest developments from this site.
Q. How does Dutasteride work, and how does it differ from Propecia?
A. Dutasteride differs from Propecia in that it blocks BOTH types of the enzyme 5-Alpha Reductace, whereas Propecia blocks only one.
There has been a long standing debate whether blocking both types of enzyme would have an extra effect on hair loss / growth. Now it seems, we have the answer.
Q. What about the side effects.
A. This is the big issue at the moment. The drug is new, and there is limited information concerning its side effects. But it is the opinion of most experts that to inhibit both types of 5-AR would result in side effects along the lines of those experienced by some people taking Propecia, but those effects are likely to be more severe and occur in a greater number of people. Please read below the comments of Dr Lee when asked whether he would be prescribing Dutasteride to his patients:
Dr Lee's comments to HLS.
"I do not intend to supply dutasteride myself and, only if I can be assured that dutasteride can be safely and effectively used in the treatment of MPB, will I consider prescribing it for my own patients.
Currently, I have very mixed feelings about dutasteride. Apparently, so does the U.S. FDA. Otherwise, they would not have asked for results of a second year of Phase III clinical trials nor would they have been expected to take such an inordinate amount of time to make a decision in regards to its approval. Even more disturbing is that Glaxo Wellcome Inc. has never given me a credible reason why they discontinued clinical trials of dutasteride for the treatment of MPB. I was told that Glaxo Wellcome decided to proceed with the clinical trials of dutasteride for the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) rather than for the treatment of MPB (male pattern baldness) for 'market reasons'. That rationale is just not believable. Men affected by BPH is only a small fraction of the number of men affected by MPB worldwide. What's more, there are already many FDA approved medical treatments for BPH".
Richard Lee, M.D.
Regrowth, LLC
More on Dutasteride soon. Should you have a question, please contact us.
