Dutasteride

Dutasteride is a new drug prescribed for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Dutasteride has also shown very positive effects as a hair loss treatment for sufferers of male pattern baldness.

What is Dutasteride used for?

Dutasteride is a recently approved drug developed by GlaxoSmithKline. Dutasteride is a dual 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor that is indicated for the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men with an enlarged prostate to:

• Improve symptoms
• Reduce the risk of acute urinary retention
• Reduce the risk of the need for BPH-related surgery

Dutasteride is currently in trial phase for the treatment of alopecia (hairloss).

Dutasteride Side Effects

Dutasteride side effects are usually mild and transient. Drug related adverse effects of dutasteride certainly appear to be less than those associated with finasteride. The most common side effects of dutasteride are sexual effects including:

• impotence
• decreased libido
• ejaculation disorders
• gynecomastia (breast tenderness)

Dutasteride side effects discovered in a clinical study are summarized in the table below. Approxiamtely 6% of each group (dutasteride and placebo) withdrew from the study due to adverse events, with the investigator attributing less than half of these withdrawals to drug related adverse effects.

Dutasteride is the generic name for a new dual 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor made by GlaxoSmithKline. The drug is set to be marketed under the name Avodart™ in the US and Avolve™ in Europe in December 2002.

The FDA has approved Dutasteride for treating BPH (Benign Prostate Hyperplasia), the same condition that Proscar™, by made Merck, is used for. Dutasteride like Finasteride, the active ingredient in Proscar and Propecia, also has the added benefit of being able to be used to treat genetic hair loss in men also known as MPB or Androgenic Alopecia.

The difference between Dutasteride and Finasteride is that Dutasteride inhibits the activities of both the type 1 and type 2 5AR enzymes unlike Finasteride which only inhibits type 2. These enzymes are responsible for the conversion of testosterone into DHT (dihydrotestosterone). DHT is the primary cause of prostate growth and hair loss and Dutasteride decreases levels of DHT by 90 percent after only two weeks making it a much more powerful weapon against hair loss and BPH.

Dutasteride.org is a site dedicated to providing you with up-to date information about the use of Dutasteride for BPH and Androgenic Alopecia. It’s important to note that the FDA has not approved Dutasteride for the treatment of hair loss but Glaxo has completed Phase 2 trials for its use in treating hair loss.

The 5-alpha-reductase (AR) inhibitors, finasteride and dutasteride, are indicated for the reduction of clinical progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). These agents are also thought to prevent the onset of prostate cancer, although some controversies exist regarding this issue and study data are still pending. In this interview, Steven A. Kaplan, MD, Chief of the Institute of Bladder and Prostate Health at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, discusses the current role of the 5-AR inhibitors in the prevention of prostate cancer and some of the issues relevant to clinical practice. Medscape interviewed Dr. Kaplan at the recent American Urological Association Meeting, held in Atlanta, Georgia.Medscape: How has the role of 5-AR inhibitors in prostate cancer prevention advanced in recent years?

Dr. Kaplan: The use of 5-AR inhibitors for prostate cancer has definitely evolved over the last 5-7 years. Data from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) comparing finasteride with placebo suggested that finasteride may decrease the incidence of prostate cancer relative to placebo.^[1] Thompson and colleagues randomized nearly 19,000 men to receive finasteride or placebo and found that finasteride was associated with a delay in the onset of prostate cancer. However, they also found that sexual side effects were slightly more common in finasteride-treated men. In addition, tumors of Gleason grade 7, 8, 9, or 10 were more common in the finasteride-treated group. This effect was originally thought to be one that was potentially induced by finasteride, but now I think we consider the finding to be a sampling error, essentially because it’s easier to find an appropriately staged graded tumor in a smaller prostate, ie, a finasteride-reduced or shrunken prostate than a larger prostate, and the initial analysis may have given the wrong impression.