Hair Loss News

Researchers in Switzerland wanted to find out if women with acne or hair loss who have normal serum levels of free testosterone can benefit from finasteride, the hair loss drug also known as Propecia.

These women had no clinical improvement from the classical treatments with antiandrogens, isotretinoids or corticosteroids.   Their hypothesis was that some of these women have an excessive activity of the enzyme 5alpha-reductase.

To test this they gave 12 patients – six of whom had acne and the other six hair loss – a daily dose of 5mg of finasteride.

The results were overwhelmingly positive, 9 of the 12 patients (75%) benefited from the treatment, their symptoms decreased significantly and they felt better psychologically than before the administration of finasteride. The other three patients did not benefit at all from finasteride and reported no change in the extent of the acne/alopecia. The treatment was generally well tolerated, and only a few adverse effects were noted.

They concluded that in these types of patients an excessive activity of the 5alpha-reductase enzyme may the root cause of acne or hair loss.   However since 25% of the patients had no change, there must also be other pathways in the development of acne and alopecia in women who have normal levels of free testosterone.

It’s important to state that women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not be taking finasteride and neither Propecia nor Proscar has been approved for use by women in the USA.
 

Effect of finasteride 5 mg (Proscar) on acne and alopecia in female patients with normal serum levels of free testosterone.

Gynecol Endocrinol. 2007 Mar;23
Kohler C, Tschumi K, Bodmer C, Schneiter M, Birkhaeuser M.
Division of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, Department Ob/Gyn, University of Berne. Berne. Switzerland.

Background: In some women with acne or alopecia who have normal serum levels of free testosterone, no clinical improvement can be reached by the classical treatment with antiandrogens, isotretinoids or corticosteroids. Our hypothesis is that some of these women have an excessive activity of the enzyme 5alpha-reductase.

Objective: To evaluate the subjective benefit of the treatment with finasteride (5 mg/day) in women with normal serum levels of free testosterone suffering from acne or alopecia.

Design: This was a retrospective study evaluating a questionnaire filled out by 12 patients, six of whom had acne and six of whom had alopecia.

Results: Nine of the 12 patients benefited from the treatment, their symptoms decreased significantly and they felt better psychologically than before the administration of finasteride. The other three patients did not benefit at all from finasteride and reported no change in the extent of the acne/alopecia. Treatment was generally well tolerated, only a few adverse effects were noted.

Conclusions: Nine of the 12 patients benefited from the treatment. This supports our hypothesis of an excessive activity of 5alpha-reductase enzyme in peripheral tissue in these patients. The fact that three of the patients did not realize any change in their symptom severity implies that there must also be other pathways in the genesis of acne and alopecia in women with normal levels of free testosterone. Further evaluation is needed to elucidate more precise indications for the administration of finasteride in women with acne and alopecia.
Source: PMID 17454167