A 27-year-old woman with androgenic alopecia is losing hair despite using oral minoxidil and spironolactone, and is considering dutasteride. She is exploring causes like stress and medication side effects, planning tests, and considering treatment changes.
Scalp biopsies are crucial for diagnosing hair loss conditions like Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) and retrograde hair loss, as treatments like finasteride and dutasteride may not be effective if other conditions are present. Combining PPAR-GAMMA agonists with retinoids could improve treatments for conditions like Lichen Planopilaris.
A 27-year-old man shared his hormonal panel results after one year of taking finasteride 1mg/day for hair loss, showing his DHT levels nearly doubled. He reported stabilized hair loss with mild side effects that resolved, and he is considering a hair transplant but is concerned about the increased DHT levels and potential treatment options.
Finasteride can cause gynecomastia due to hormonal imbalances. Management includes consulting an endocrinologist and using aromatase inhibitors like anastrozole or supplements like DIM and zinc.