Novel Mechanism of Action of Dutasteride for Inducing Hair Growth in Patients with Female-Pattern Hair Loss
January 2020
in “
Journal of Clinical Dermatology
”
TLDR Dutasteride helps increase hair density in patients with female-pattern hair loss by activating a new growth mechanism.
The study, conducted three years ago, evaluated the clinical utility of dutasteride in 24 patients with Female-pattern hair loss (FPHL). The results showed that the mean vertex hair density significantly increased from 67±14 to 76±13/cm2 (p=0.001) and the mean occipital hair density increased from 89±11 to 94±13/cm2 (p=0.012) after dutasteride treatment. However, the mean hair thickness did not increase. Dutasteride treatment also led to an increase in β-catenin activity in primary cultures of human dermal papilla cells (DPCs), and the mRNA level of vascular endothelial growth factor increased. The study concluded that dutasteride promotes hair growth through a novel mechanism, supporting the potential clinical application of 5α-reductase inhibitors for the treatment of FPHL.