TLDR The document concludes that women should not use 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors due to the risk of birth defects and limited effectiveness.
The document from 2016 highlights the risks associated with the use of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, such as finasteride and dutasteride, in women, which are not recommended due to potential birth defects in male fetuses. Despite this, the drugs have been used off-label for female alopecia and hirsutism, but with limited effectiveness. The study showed a decline in prescriptions to women in the Netherlands from 920 in 2011 to 651 in 2015, but concerningly, many recipients were of childbearing age and not using contraceptives. The authors call for medication surveillance systems to alert healthcare providers when these drugs are prescribed to women and to ensure contraceptive use is considered.
32 citations,
January 2014 in “Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology” Finasteride and dutasteride effectively stop or reverse hair loss in women with androgenetic alopecia, with dutasteride being more effective for women under 50.
44 citations,
January 2013 in “International Journal of Trichology” Finasteride 5 mg/day effectively treats hair loss in postmenopausal women without hyper-androgenism.
64 citations,
June 2010 in “Journal of The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology” Finasteride improves hair density and thickness in women with hair loss.
29 citations,
May 2010 in “Annals of Pharmacotherapy” Finasteride may help some women with hair loss, but better options exist.
72 citations,
January 2004 in “Dermatology” Finasteride can slow hair loss and promote growth in postmenopausal women.
239 citations,
November 2000 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Finasteride doesn't effectively treat hair loss in postmenopausal women.
122 citations,
July 1990 in “Teratology” Finasteride exposure in pregnancy causes genital abnormalities in male rats.
2 citations,
August 2016 in “British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology” The document concludes that women should not use 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors due to the risk of birth defects and limited effectiveness.
33 citations,
August 2016 in “Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology” Dutasteride is more effective than finasteride at increasing hair count and reversing hair thinning in men with hair loss, but both have similar side effects.
January 2015 in “프로그램북(구 초록집)” Dutasteride is effective and safe for treating common hair loss, and it's more potent than finasteride, leading to better hair growth and thickness.
215 citations,
November 2006 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Dutasteride more effective for hair growth, but has more side effects than finasteride.
33 citations,
September 2005 in “PubMed” Dutasteride successfully treated a woman's hair loss when other treatments failed.
408 citations,
May 2004 in “The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism/Journal of clinical endocrinology & metabolism” Dutasteride more effectively lowers DHT levels in men with enlarged prostates than finasteride.
