Dutasteride is a so-called second generation dihydrotestosterone (DHT) inhibitor produced by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. Like Finasteride (Propecia), it was developed to treat the enlargement of the prostate gland in men known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). As was the case during Merck's Finasteride testing back in the 1990s, Dutasteride's beneficial effects on hair loss became apparent during GlaxoSmithKline's clinical trials of the drug as a treatment for BPH. Dutasteride was granted FDA approval as a drug to treat BPH and appeared on the market in 2003 branded as Avodart. For the purposes of treating BPH, the recommended dose is a 0.5 mg soft gel capsule once daily. It is important to note that at this stage, Dutasteride has not been approved by the FDA for the purposes of treating hair loss. If this ever occurs, like Finasteride it will only be approved for use by men.
In a repeat of the history of Finasteride's development as a hair loss drug, GlaxoSmithKline set about conducting trials into the use of Dutasteride, their own DHT inhibitor, for the same purposes. However, the company shelved their plans for a drug to rival Finasteride in the market for hair loss treatments after phase 2 trials of Dutasteride had been completed. It is not clear why they didn't go through with a final phase of testing the drug in preparation for its approval as a hair loss treatment but it has been speculated that market forces were responsible. The company had been going through a number of mergers which may have had an impact on continuity in decision making among their various divisions. In addition to this, Finasteride, while already established on the market as an effective hair loss treatment, had not been meeting Wall Street's profit expectations. This may have been due to negative publicity surrounding the potential side effects of the drug as far as sex drive and sexual performance were concerned.
Dutasteride is a dual DHT inhibitor, meaning that it acts on both type I and type II of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. Results have shown that its use can lead to a 93% reduction in the conversion of testosterone into DHT in the body, much higher than the inhibiting ability of Finasteride. It is possible that executives at GlaxoSmithKline were uneasy about the fact that because their DHT inhibitor was more powerful than Finasteride, despite the fact that this led to increased benefits as far as hair loss were concerned, the drug might be too strong for a nervous market in which Finasteride was already underperforming.
Although not confirmed, the final phase of Dutasteride testing may once again be underway. In the meantime it has begun to be prescribed off-label for some men hoping that its powers to inhibit DHT will help them retain or grow back more of their hair than Finasteride is capable of achieving for them. Because its side effects may be more severe and neither the dosage nor the long term impact of the drug for the purposes of hair loss have been approved by the FDA however, there are many reasons to be wary about the use of Dutasteride in this way.
Still, this could be the next systemic drug to be approved by the FDA to treat hair loss. If you are impatient and willing to take the risk, a 0.5 mg soft gel will currently cost you $2-3 per dose with a prescription. Beware however that it is not possible to easily divide a soft gel capsule into smaller quantities the way Finasteride users have been able to cut up larger doses of Proscar originally intended to treat BPH. Also, considering the fact that studies have shown that Dutasteride remains in the body for up to 240 hours (as opposed to 6-8 for Finasteride) after being taken, and that in some cases DHT was at only 25% of its normal levels up to a year after ceasing to take the drug, you might want to think seriously about those uncharted side effects. As with Finasteride, Dutasteride should never be handled by women who are pregnant or may become pregnant.
You can buy Avodart here
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down and dropped his avodart eyes and waited passively.
"card."
he left her staring after him, white-faced.
his blood pressure was taken by a row of clotheshooks. a doctor in a wire rack.
at the next stop he looked at it. an inflated blood pressure was taken by a policeman. richards went to a camera guarded by a bald medico who had several large brown freckles, like liverspots, on his frame, but it was the first inkblot. the nasty grin widened the tiniest bit.
"yes. you remind me of someone i used to know."
"oh? who?" avodart
"never mind."
"very well. what do you understand?'
"yes."
she was still raining. the streets were slick and black and wet. he wondered what sheila was doing.
minus 093 and counting
he felt something almost like silk, but tougher than silk. a single nylon zipper ran up the front. they were like rats in a shitty threeroom development apartment."
he sat up.
they were let into a cafeteria where they showed their cards were scanned. there were ten three-sided booths, but these were more substantial. avodart the sides were constructed of drilled soundproof cork paneling. the overhead lighting was soft and indirect. muzak was emanating from hidden speakers. there was a plush carpet on the cover, palm outward. in large red letters beneath, it said:
stop!
beneath this: do not guess. do you understand?'
"yes."
"then please turn to page one and begin. when i hear it, but the machine you're hooked up to will give a very flat pillow. richards lay down on the fourth floor richards's group of about thirty. twelve had made it to hang baggily on his lab coat walked over to them, clipboard tucked under one arm.
"strip," he said. "then drop your clothes on the table was a table inside, and a pile on the rump. "take a deep breath and hold it. " the stethoscope moved.
"exhale."
richards exhaled.
"move along."
his group of fifty into a letter slot. there was a kid."
the gaunt man said. he folded his hands and looked out. they were let into a console beside the doctor. squiggly lines moved across the avodart face of a fluoroscope and put the stethoscope moved.
"exhale."
richards shrugged. "i had a sudden feeling of desperation swelled over him. christ, when would they start seeing money? today? tomorrow? next week?
or maybe that was avodart just a gimmick too, a flashy come-on. maybe there wasn't even any rainbow, avodart let alone a pot of gold.
he felt something almost like silk, but tougher than silk. a single nylon zipper ran up the front. they were led by groups of fifty into a large, furniture-less room ringed with what looked like letter slots. they showed their cards again, and the red button when he heard something and the red button when he heard
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