DUTASTERIDE & HAIR LOSS

London Dermatology | 20 July 2024

Males with androgenic alopecia, or male pattern hair loss, may be prescribed the drug dutasteride. By lowering the amount of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is essential in the development of androgenic alopecia, it aids in the prevention of hair loss.

A synthetic substance called dutasteride functions to stop testosterone, the hormone responsible for male sex, from becoming dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Men who have developed an enlarged prostate may use it to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. Dutasteride helps these guys have better urine flow, which lessens the need for a second surgery. Dutasteride can also be used to treat male pattern hair loss because it reduces DHT levels.

Hair loss can lower self confidence and limit physical appearance. And unfortunately, it occurs in a large number of people. In the United States alone, there’s an estimated 80 million people suffering from androgenic alopecia. Depending on the type of hair loss, symptoms can range from a receding hairline, to a thinning hair (especially in women), and loss of small patches of hair on the scalp.

Dutasteride functions as a strong inhibitor of the 5AR 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which stops testosterone from being converted into DHT, the main hormone responsible for hair loss in androgenic alopecia. Dutasteride stops the production of DHT by inhibiting the 5-alpha reductase enzyme. Due to DHT’s effects on the hair growth cycle, hair miniaturises, becomes shorter, shrinks, and eventually falls out. Dutasteride can successfully stop more hair loss by stopping this mechanism.