Title:Dutasteride in Androgenetic Alopecia: An Update
Volume: 12
Issue: 1
Author(s): Tasleem Arif*, Konchok Dorjay, Mohammad Adil and Marwa Sami
Affiliation:
- Department of Dermatology, STDs and Leprosy, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh, India, Al-Rahman Apartment, ground floor, Behind Zakaria market, New Sir Syed Nagar, Civil lines Aligarh,India
Keywords:
Androgenetic alopecia, dutasteride, finasteride, minoxidil, 5-α-reductase, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone.
Abstract: Background: Androgenetic alopecia is a common condition characterized by thinning of
scalp hair. Conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, a more potent androgen, by the enzyme
5-α-reductase is responsible for underlying pathogenesis. Dutasteride, a synthetic 4-azasteroid, is a
selective and competitive inhibitor of both type-1 and type-2 isoenzymes of 5-α-reductase. Finasteride and
minoxidil are the only approved drugs for androgenetic alopecia. Dutasteride has been demonstrated
to be effective in several randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trials in androgenetic alopecia.
In this review, after the pharmacology of dutasteride, the authors have discussed the status of
dutasteride in androgenetic alopecia and have compared its efficacy with that of finasteride.
Objective: This article aims to review the current status of dutasteride in androgenetic alopecia. The
structure, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics and side effects are discussed along with its
comparison with finasteride in androgenetic alopecia.
Method: The main sources of our information were Medline Pubmed, Google scholar and Scopus
including original articles and review articles. The keywords 'dutasteride', 'dutasteride in androgenetic
alopecia' were used for search.
Conclusion: Like finasteride, dutasteride is now becoming popular treatment option in AGA, due to
its good response shown by various randomized control studies and meta-analysis. Also, in most of
these studies, dutasteride was found to be better than finasteride with comparable adverse effects.
Therefore, dutasteride could become a treatment of choice for AGA in near future.