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Preliminary Report on Finasteride (Proscar) Studies
Finasteride inhibits the enzyme which converts testosterone to DHT, the most important
androgen in pattern balding. It is FDA approved for prostate enlargement and is undergoing
clinical trials for pattern loss. David Whiting, MD, (Dallas) reports the following in the
Sept-Oct, 1995 edition of "Hair Transplant Forum"
1) At six months and at twelve months respectively,, 36 % and 52% of patients on oral
Finasteride ( e.g., 5 mg/day ) showed at least a 10% gain in number of hairs in a sample
one inch circle.
2) Visible changes were seen in the appearance of patients.
3) It may take as long as twelve months for results to occur with many patients.
4) Side-effects seem to be minimal at the doses used.
A few comments:
1) This seems comparable with the results with topicial antiandrogens such as
spironolactone. I.e, it doesn't work super well or very quickly, but it does work. BTW,
this is in line with a lot of things in dermatology. E.g., Retin-A, the best topical agent
we have for acne, is only 67% effective.
2) As with, e.g., spironolactone, the best treatment will probably be to use Proscar in
combination with hair-growth stimulators such as minoxidil or one of the newer pyridine-N
oxides, etc. Antiandrogens seem to make such compounds work better and ( most importantly
) apparently prevent tolerance to the effects of the drug from developing. BTW, I've got
the European patent for antiandrogens plus hair-growth stimulators.
Again, please address all questions to the Newsgroup so I don't have to keep answering the
same ones. You may think your case is unique, but the causes of hair loss are very
stereotyped.
Peter H. Proctor, PhD, MD
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