New Study – Dutasteride vs Finasteride

In a recent article in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006 Dec;55(6):1014-1023), dutasteride and finasteride were compared over a limited 12 week and 24 week study in 500 men in a study which had also compared placebo effects. The authors of the article are Olsen EA, Hordinsky M, Whiting D, Stough D, Hobbs S, Ellis ML, Wilson T, Rittmaster RS; for the Dutasteride Alopecia Research Team.

Based upon photographs taken, dutasteride was superior to finasteride in this time frame. Dutasteride blocks both Type one and Type two receptors and the suggestion of the authors was that the combined block of these two receptors may be better than a block of one receptor in reversing the process. Clearly, the study needs to be extended well beyond 24 weeks.

The long term safety of Type 1 clocking for DHT production is safe and there is a natural model both genetically and through eating finasteride, but no comparable model exists for the DHT block of both receptors for safety, as the study above just discusses limited views of efficacy. The FDA’s position is still that dutasteride is not an approved drug for treating hair loss.