179 citations,
May 1982 in “The Journal of clinical investigation/The journal of clinical investigation” High levels of 3 alpha-diol glucuronide in the blood are a marker of increased androgen action in women with excessive hair growth of unknown cause.
76 citations,
December 1997 in “Fertility and Sterility” Finasteride reduces hair growth better, but spironolactone has more side effects.
75 citations,
November 1996 in “Fertility and Sterility” Finasteride effectively reduces hair growth in women with idiopathic hirsutism, but requires careful contraception during treatment.
66 citations,
October 1987 in “The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism/Journal of clinical endocrinology & metabolism” Measuring androstanediol glucuronide in blood is useful for assessing and tracking treatment in women with excessive hair growth.
56 citations,
April 2003 in “Fertility and Sterility” All three treatments reduce hirsutism, but spironolactone works best long-term.
51 citations,
November 2011 in “Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology” About 13% of women had idiopathic hirsutism and 8.5% had polycystic ovary syndrome in a group of Iranian women.
47 citations,
August 2000 in “Endocrine Reviews” The document concludes that more research is needed to understand excessive hair growth in women with normal hormone levels and regular ovulation.
43 citations,
November 1975 in “Archives of Dermatology” Testosterone affects hair loss, acne, and excessive hair growth, and antiandrogens can help treat these conditions.
42 citations,
October 2004 in “Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes” The main cause of excessive hair growth in Turkish women is Polycystic ovary syndrome, but in about one fifth of cases, the reason for high male hormone levels is unknown.
40 citations,
January 2003 in “Gynecological Endocrinology” Finasteride effectively reduces hair growth in women with polycystic ovary syndrome or idiopathic hirsutism.
36 citations,
November 1995 in “Clinical endocrinology” Low-dose flutamide helps reduce excessive hair growth and is even more effective with birth control, without bad effects on blood fats.
33 citations,
October 1994 in “The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism” Finasteride reduces hair growth and is safe for women with excessive hair.
32 citations,
July 1999 in “Fertility and Sterility” Finasteride and flutamide both reduce hair growth, but finasteride has fewer side effects.
27 citations,
November 1998 in “Journal of Endocrinological Investigation” Finasteride significantly reduces hair growth in women with idiopathic hirsutism.
18 citations,
June 1988 in “Culture, medicine and psychiatry” The perception of excessive hair growth in women as abnormal is more influenced by cultural norms than by medical reasons.
12 citations,
May 2005 in “Fertility and Sterility” Higher insulin levels are linked to larger ovaries in women with idiopathic hirsutism.
11 citations,
February 2008 in “British journal of nursing” Idiopathic hirsutism causes excessive hair growth in women, can be treated with medication and hair removal, but cannot be fully reversed.
10 citations,
January 2000 in “PubMed” Both finasteride and GnRH agonist treatments reduced hair growth in women with idiopathic hirsutism, but GnRH agonist was more effective.
8 citations,
November 1978 in “British journal of dermatology/British journal of dermatology, Supplement” Cyproterone acetate can effectively treat idiopathic hirsutism, but ethinyl oestradiol and lynoestrenol may not always reduce hair growth.
7 citations,
December 2014 in “Australasian journal of dermatology” Insulin resistance is not more common in idiopathic hirsutism patients than in healthy individuals.
6 citations,
July 2013 in “Acta Clinica Belgica” The document concludes that combination therapy is most effective for treating excessive hair growth in women with idiopathic hirsutism, and more research is needed to understand the condition.
6 citations,
November 1980 in “Clinical Endocrinology” Measuring plasma testosterone glucosiduronate is a reliable way to detect high male hormone levels in women.
5 citations,
January 2015 in “Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine” Adding licorice gel to laser treatment is more effective for reducing facial hair than laser alone.
4 citations,
January 2015 in “Journal of drug assessment” Finasteride gel effectively and safely reduces hair thickness in women with excessive hair growth.
2 citations,
June 2004 in “Expert review of pharmacoeconomics & outcomes research” Cheap treatments for excessive hair growth in women can improve symptoms by 35-40% after one year.
1 citations,
May 2013 in “Journal of the Egyptian Women's Dermatologic Society (Print)” Women with idiopathic hirsutism and PCOS have higher RBP4 levels, and PCOS is linked to greater insulin resistance; weight management may help both conditions.
February 2013 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” There is no significant link between insulin resistance and certain hair disorders like idiopathic hirsutism and androgenic alopecia.
December 1999 in “Evidence-based obstetrics and gynecology/Evidence-based obstetrics & gynecology” Flutamide worked better than finasteride for reducing excessive hair growth in women, but had more side effects.
September 1997 in “JEADV. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology/Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology” Spironolactone is more effective than finasteride in treating excessive hair growth in women.
November 1982 in “Inpharma” Spironolactone reduces hair growth in women with unexplained excessive hairiness.