| There has been controversy regarding the effectiveness of finasteride and dutasteride in the treatment of androgenetic
alopecia in women. In a study on women with androgenetic alopecia, finasteride and dutasteride were evaluated for their
effects on hair loss. We selected 30 women from a database of 3500 women treated with finasteride 1.25 mg or dutasteride
0.15 mg whose data had been systematically retrieved to obtain data on the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. The sample
was stratified for age and medication type. The thickness of the three thinnest hairs was measured by standardized
microscopic images at the beginning of treatment and after 3 years of continuous medication intake. Three
dermatologists/hair experts independently evaluated the macroscopic images. An image displaying superior density of hair
had to be identified for diagnosis. Based on signed rank tests, it was found that hair thickness increased statistically
significantly for both age categories over the 3-year period when finasteride and dutasteride were used. Finasteride resulted
in an increase in hair thickness for 49 (81.7%) of the women and dutasteride resulted in an increase for 50 (85.6%) of the
women. Dutasteride was rated superior to finasteride by 118 (66.7%) and 124 (69.8%) post-treatment images on average.
The results of a statistical comparison between dutasteride and finasteride at the central and vertex sites of the scalp in the
age category below 50 years were significantly better with dutasteride. In studies involving women suffering from
androgenetic alopecia, finasteride 1.25 mg and dutasteride 0.15 mg were shown to be effective in increasing hair thickness
and preventing further hair lossddd |
