Dutasteride

Status

FDA-approved. FDA-approved labeling exists as Avodart for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. There is no FDA-approved indication for hair loss, though the drug is approved for androgenetic alopecia in some other countries. Labeling covers PSA effects, the high-grade prostate cancer finding for the class, and contraindication in women of childbearing potential, including a warning against handling capsules.

What it is

A longer-acting DHT-lowering medicine used for prostate and hair.

What published research measured

A dual inhibitor of both type 1 and type 2 5-alpha-reductase, producing more complete suppression of dihydrotestosterone than finasteride — typically above ninety per cent against roughly seventy per cent. Head-to-head randomized trials in androgenetic alopecia report greater hair count improvement, and it holds approval for that indication in South Korea and Japan though not in the United States. Its half-life is the practical distinction that matters most: several weeks, with detectable serum concentrations persisting for months after stopping, meaning both benefit and any adverse effect resolve far more slowly than with finasteride. The adverse effect profile is otherwise similar in kind, and the same PSA halving applies.

Source

Head-to-head trials of dutasteride versus finasteride in androgenetic alopecia · FDA labeling for Avodart

Sources

• Half-life source for Dutasteride