Is the Consensus About Avodart for Hair Loss Mostly Positive?

Doc:

I notice that you don’t make many (if any) references to Avodart / dutasteride as an effective medication for hairloss any more. I realize that it’s not FDA approved for this use and perhaps you have some liability issues, but is the general consensus within the hair replacement community that it’s effective?

Thanks!

I can not comment on the hair transplant community as a whole. Maybe after the annual ISHRS convention in October, I will be able to report on a consensus. I had a patient yesterday who reported going from Propecia to Avodart and he did notice a complete loss of libido on the Avodart, something that he only had a mild experience with while on Propecia. I am under the impression that the DHT block is much more extensive in Avodart. I am hesitant to recommend or endorse the use of this product for treating hair loss in men unless I had some unique conditions such as the presence of diffuse unpatterned alopecia in a male that has not responded to finasteride (I don’t recommended drugs that do not have FDA clearance for treating hair loss routinely) — but if the DHT blocking in Avodart is better than Propecia, then I’d assume that equates to more protection from hair loss. Maybe it is worth another look at it for men who are losing ground on finasteride.