How come finasteride stops hairloss?

[stampede]

Okay, I know that finasteride gets rid of the 5ar2 enzyme that makes T convert to DHT.

But what I can't figure out is, how come it can stop or even partly reverse the balding process in some men even though a 1mg dose leaves a lot of the DHT untouched? :dunno:

Surely, if this DHT stuff is what is making us lose our hair, people who take finasteride ought to carry on losing that hair, just a bit more slowly? :dunno:

Anyone care to explain this?

 

[Pondle]

DHT in general does not seem to be the problem - Merck's tests of MK-386, the 5AR1-inhibitor, showed no benefit for hair growth when tested on stumptail macaques (unlike finasteride). The problem seems primarily to be the DHT created inside the follicle by 5AR2.

Finasteride does not seem to stop balding completely. It doesn't work for all men, and even when it is effective it seems to progressively weaken: "At 12 months, 58% of men in the placebo group had further hair loss (defined as any decrease in hair count from baseline), compared with 14% of men treated with PROPECIA. In men treated for up to 2 years, 72% of men in the placebo group demonstrated hair loss, compared with 17% of men treated with PROPECIA. At 5 years, 100% of men in the placebo group demonstrated hair loss, compared with 35% of men treated with PROPECIA."

 

[phish]

i think your numbers are off a bit atleast if you get your info from propecias studies after 5 years. It says 90 percent have same hair or better.

 

[Pondle]

i think your numbers are off a bit atleast if you get your info from propecias studies after 5 years. It says 90 percent have same hair or better.

I quoted the Propecia product monograph.