30 citations
,
October 2002 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Use "female pattern hair loss" term, finasteride may help, more research needed.
86 citations
,
July 2002 in “Clinical and Experimental Dermatology” This review discusses female pattern hair loss, emphasizing its complex causes and the limited treatment options available, and reports no new clinical results.
26 citations
,
April 2002 in “Archives of Dermatology” 
239 citations
,
November 2000 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” In this study, finasteride 1 mg/day for 12 months did not improve hair growth or slow hair thinning in postmenopausal women with androgenetic alopecia compared to placebo.
129 citations
,
October 2000 in “British Journal of Dermatology” This study found that finasteride increases anagen hair growth in men with androgenetic alopecia.
187 citations
,
June 1999 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” This study reported that finasteride 1 mg/day significantly increased hair growth and slowed hair loss in men with frontal scalp hair thinning over one year, and these benefits continued or improved in the second year.
28 citations
,
February 1999 in “Archives of Dermatological Research” Finasteride potentially treats hair loss by reducing DHT production.
125 citations
,
January 1999 in “Drugs” This study found that oral finasteride 1 mg/day promotes hair growth and prevents further hair loss in a significant proportion of men with male pattern hair loss over two years.
60 citations
,
December 1998 in “Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics” Both drugs lower DHT levels, with GI198745 being more effective.
581 citations
,
October 1998 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” In male pattern hair loss, this study found that finasteride 1 mg daily significantly slowed hair loss and increased hair growth over two years compared to placebo.
192 citations
,
March 1998 in “British Journal of Dermatology” This study found that minoxidil significantly increases VEGF mRNA and protein expression in dermal papilla cells, suggesting a role in enhancing hair follicle vascularization in androgenetic alopecia.
76 citations
,
December 1997 in “Fertility and Sterility” This study found that spironolactone was significantly more effective than finasteride in reducing hirsutism scores over 9 months, despite more side effects occurring in the spironolactone group.
15 citations
,
April 1997 in “Muscle & Nerve” 
67 citations
,
February 1997 in “Teratology” This study demonstrated that high oral doses of finasteride caused external genital abnormalities in male rhesus monkey fetuses, but intravenous doses did not lead to abnormalities.
38 citations
,
January 1997 in “Gynecological Endocrinology” This study found that both finasteride and flutamide effectively reduced hirsutism in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, decreasing the Ferriman-Gallwey score and hair diameter without significant side effects.
37 citations
,
September 1996 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Treat genetic hair loss early with FDA-approved medications and consider hair transplantation.
50 citations
,
July 1996 in “Fertility and Sterility” This study found that finasteride significantly reduced hirsutism scores in women with idiopathic hirsutism and PCOS, despite no changes in serum androgen levels.
93 citations
,
January 1996 in “Clinical Pharmacokinectics” Finasteride helps regrow hair and shrink prostate by reducing DHT, with some sexual side effects.
9 citations
,
October 1993 in “The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology” Finasteride doesn't affect antipyrine metabolism, so interactions with cytochrome P-450 enzyme drugs are unlikely.
147 citations
,
April 1990 in “The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism” This study found that finasteride significantly suppresses serum dihydrotestosterone levels at all tested doses in normal male volunteers without significant adverse effects.
