Therapeutic Hotline: Genetic Variations in the Androgen Receptor Gene and Finasteride Response in Women with Androgenetic Alopecia Mediated by Epigenetics

This article discusses a pilot study that aimed to identify whether genetic variations in the androgen receptor (AR) gene could help determine which women with hair loss are likely to respond to finasteride therapy. The study found that women with greater androgen sensitivity (<24 cytosine, adenine, and guanine (CAG) repeats) were likely to have a significant response to finasteride 1 mg/day compared with patients treated with placebo, and compared with patients with normal androgen sensitivity (≥24 CAG repeats) based on epigenetic weighted evaluation of the CAG alleles. The study supports the hypothesis that AR-CAG repeats, in conjunction with epigenetic factors, can help determine which women with hair loss will respond to finasteride therapy.