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Avodart (Dutasteride)

Avodart is a prescription medicine that is FDA approved for treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) or an enlarged prostate. However, while researching the drug they realized people taking the medicine were growing hair. When they realized that they started doing clinical trials for use for hair loss. The dosage they were using in the study for treating hair loss ranged from 0.05 to 2.5 mg, one pill per day; 0.5 mg was effective, and 2.5 mg was superior.

This medicine works similar as Finasteride in that it inhibits the conversion of testosterone into DHT by the 5a-reductase enzyme. The difference is Dutasteride inhibits by Type I and Type II. The clinical trials showed that Type I could potentially be linked to hair loss since it is found in the scalp, but more research is needed and that is research that will probably never get done.  The downside of this medication is the potential side effects.  It has sexually related side effects such as erection problems, decreased semen, and a decreased sex drive.

The few clinical trials were successful but for whatever reason GlaxoSmithKline discontinued their research on the drug for treating hair loss. I believe they stopped the research because they felt the cost to get the drug to market wasn’t worth how much they felt it would generate in income. But some doctors use the 0.5 mg pill once a day for patients that get side effects from Finasteride.

If you are interested in seeing the clinical trial that was performed on Dutasteride for hair loss, you can click here to purchase the study directly from the publisher.

My experience and opinion on this product: I tried this product for a few months but got unwanted sexual side effects, so I stopped using it. The side effects of this medicine are similar to Finasteride but Dutasteride is a stronger treatment and it stays in your system for months, as opposed to a few weeks as does Finasteride. I am thankful that the sexual side effects went away, but it took months.  I also don’t like the fact that the dosage for hair loss is stronger than the dosage for treating an enlarged prostate, which is the opposite with Finasteride. If you decide to try a hair loss treatment in pill form I recommend trying Finasteride 1 mg and not this medicine. However, if you are concerned about the sexual related side effects from using Finasteride or Dutasteride then try a topical formulation like 4hairlossMen.