What's
this I keep hearing about Dutasteride, a dual 5AR
inhibitor?
A:
DHT is produced from testosterone by two 5-alpha reductase
isoenzymes, called Type I and Type II. Type I 5AR is
much more prominent in the scalp than Type II. However,
immunostaining techniques reveal that Type I is abundant
in sebaceous glands, while significant Type II is present
in the dermal papilla itself. Glaxo Wellcome has created
a medication called Avodart (Dutasteride) that inhibits
both isoenzymes. It is
noteworthy that Dutasteride also
appears to inhibit more Type II 5AR than finasteride
does. What remains to be seen is whether the incidence
of side effects will increase with the dual inhibitor
above the level seen with finasteride and whether results
will be greater or not. |
