Dutasteride Injections to the Scalp?

Dr Rassman
I have read about avodart injected into the scalp with good results. Can you tell me how it would work without getting into the blood stream first. Here is the link:

Mesotherapy using Dutasteride-Containing Solution in Male Pattern Hair Loss
(PDF file)

The results are interesting, but the sample size was very small and the length of the study was only a few months. This might be worth exploring with further research, though. The paper is almost 2 years old, so if there’s a follow-up study I’d love to see it.

This paper says there were 28 patients that completed the study, with 14 having received an injection of “0.05% dutasteride containing solution” and 14 receiving a saline placebo. Hair growth was noted in most of the 14 dutasteride-treated patients, and all of the placebo patients did lose hair. This is promising, but since the study only went on for 12 weeks (I realize it was just a pilot study), a longer study should be established in the future to address safety concerns. Growing hair is great, but if you end up risking your health it negates the cosmetic benefit of your hair. Also important to note — this doesn’t appear to have been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, which means it wasn’t subjected to any scrutiny by those experienced with this medication and method of application.

I appreciate you bringing this to my attention as it is quite interesting, but I wouldn’t suggest anyone rushing to have this done though. Besides, taking a pill sounds a whole lot easier and less painful than injections in the scalp — not to mention that dutasteride still isn’t even FDA approved for use in treating hair loss and anything injected into the scalp (which is very vascular) will see fast absorption into the body 100% of the time. The paper itself concludes, “As is often the case with previously untested new techniques, this study raises more questions than it answers.” Indeed.