Enhancement of Percutaneous Absorption of Finasteride by Cosolvents, Cosurfactant, and Surfactants

November 2009 in “ Pharmaceutical Development and Technology ”

Yousef Javadzadeh, Javad Shokri, Somayeh Hallaj-Nezhadi, Hamed Hamishehkar, Ali Nokhodchi

finasteride percutaneous absorption penetration enhancers Transcutol P CTAB SLS skin permeation Propecia skin absorption cetyltrimethylammonium bromide sodium lauryl sulfate

TLDR Transcutol P best increases Finasteride absorption for hair loss treatment.

The study investigated the use of different penetration enhancers to increase the percutaneous absorption of Finasteride, a drug used to treat hair loss. The results showed that Transcutol P was the most effective enhancer, increasing the skin penetration of Finasteride about six-fold compared to the free enhancer formulation. CTAB also had a fair enhancing effect, while SLS did not show any significant effect. The study concluded that the nature and physicochemical properties of the drug and enhancers are important factors in enhancing skin permeation of drugs.

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Research cited in this study

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research Development of Liposomal Systems of Finasteride for Topical Applications: Design, Characterization, and In Vitro Evaluation

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Finasteride doesn't effectively treat hair loss in postmenopausal women.

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Finasteride and minoxidil are effective for hair loss, but continued research is needed for better treatments.

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Finasteride effectively treats frontal hair loss with few side effects.

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Finasteride safely and effectively treats male pattern hair loss, but may cause reversible sexual issues and harm male fetuses.

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