A Word of Caution on Avodart

Article by HairlossTalk.com

Duration of Side Effects
The greatest concern however, is the potential duration of side effects. The long half life of dutasteride exceeds 240 hours vs. the rather short 6 to 8 hours for finasteride. There have been some cases where the DHT levels were still had only returned to 25% of their original levels nearly a YEAR after having discontinued Dutasteride. As a result, any dangers or side effects that may be seen from Avodart, whether directly related or as a hypersensitive or allergic reaction may take literally months to resolve.

Cost

Using dutasteride at the 2.5 mg dose will be quite expensive. Since many people are considering taking the 2.5mg dose, and Avodart is sold in 0.5mg capsules at nearly $90 for 30, basic math reveals quite a hefty monthly expense for this off-label treatment.

Dosing Frequency

On the other hand, the good news is that due to the long duration of action, the optimal dosage frequency might be once weekly or even once monthly. However, the fact remains that there is no clinical data to look towards regarding less frequent dosage schedules, so we doctors, and our patients, will be on our own. The ideal patient may be the person who has used Propecia for extended periods of time and saw results with no side effects.

Perspective?

I find that many patients are reluctant to take Propecia because of the sexual side effect disclaimers from the original TV ads by Merck. As a result, I find this irrational fervor to take Avodart worrisome, because we do not know about long-term side effects, nor how long the short-term side effects, if experienced, will last.

Conclusion

True, the preliminary results for hair growth are encouraging, but at what price? Glaxo has not done even presented the bare minimum needed as far as safety or dosing data for this drug to be used to treat hair loss. The most effective dose that carries the least chance of side effects. This is what Merck did for us with Propecia, and the data backing their recommendation is imperative to have. Perhaps the initial, ideal Dutasteride patient will be the one having had no problems with Propecia, who wants to improve their results. However, Dutasteride stays in the body for months, and maybe as long as a year. So if complications arise from its use, they will be around for a long time. Remember Fen-Fen for weight loss? Personally, I do not want my patients to be the guinea pigs.

Edwin S. Epstein, MD
Certified, American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery
Member, International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery

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