Dutasteride is a so-called second generation dihydrotestosterone (DHT) inhibitor produced by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. Like Finasteride (Propecia), it was developed to treat the enlargement of the prostate gland in men known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). As was the case during Merck's Finasteride testing back in the 1990s, Dutasteride's beneficial effects on hair loss became apparent during GlaxoSmithKline's clinical trials of the drug as a treatment for BPH. Dutasteride was granted FDA approval as a drug to treat BPH and appeared on the market in 2003 branded as Avodart. For the purposes of treating BPH, the recommended dose is a 0.5 mg soft gel capsule once daily. It is important to note that at this stage, Dutasteride has not been approved by the FDA for the purposes of treating hair loss. If this ever occurs, like Finasteride it will only be approved for use by men.
In a repeat of the history of Finasteride's development as a hair loss drug, GlaxoSmithKline set about conducting trials into the use of Dutasteride, their own DHT inhibitor, for the same purposes. However, the company shelved their plans for a drug to rival Finasteride in the market for hair loss treatments after phase 2 trials of Dutasteride had been completed. It is not clear why they didn't go through with a final phase of testing the drug in preparation for its approval as a hair loss treatment but it has been speculated that market forces were responsible. The company had been going through a number of mergers which may have had an impact on continuity in decision making among their various divisions. In addition to this, Finasteride, while already established on the market as an effective hair loss treatment, had not been meeting Wall Street's profit expectations. This may have been due to negative publicity surrounding the potential side effects of the drug as far as sex drive and sexual performance were concerned.
Dutasteride is a dual DHT inhibitor, meaning that it acts on both type I and type II of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. Results have shown that its use can lead to a 93% reduction in the conversion of testosterone into DHT in the body, much higher than the inhibiting ability of Finasteride. It is possible that executives at GlaxoSmithKline were uneasy about the fact that because their DHT inhibitor was more powerful than Finasteride, despite the fact that this led to increased benefits as far as hair loss were concerned, the drug might be too strong for a nervous market in which Finasteride was already underperforming.
Although not confirmed, the final phase of Dutasteride testing may once again be underway. In the meantime it has begun to be prescribed off-label for some men hoping that its powers to inhibit DHT will help them retain or grow back more of their hair than Finasteride is capable of achieving for them. Because its side effects may be more severe and neither the dosage nor the long term impact of the drug for the purposes of hair loss have been approved by the FDA however, there are many reasons to be wary about the use of Dutasteride in this way.
Still, this could be the next systemic drug to be approved by the FDA to treat hair loss. If you are impatient and willing to take the risk, a 0.5 mg soft gel will currently cost you $2-3 per dose with a prescription. Beware however that it is not possible to easily divide a soft gel capsule into smaller quantities the way Finasteride users have been able to cut up larger doses of Proscar originally intended to treat BPH. Also, considering the fact that studies have shown that Dutasteride remains in the body for up to 240 hours (as opposed to 6-8 for Finasteride) after being taken, and that in some cases DHT was at only 25% of its normal levels up to a year after ceasing to take the drug, you might want to think seriously about those uncharted side effects. As with Finasteride, Dutasteride should never be handled by women who are pregnant or may become pregnant.
You can buy Avodart here
.
and an electric razor, a bar of soap, and a pile of shit. " he smiled magnanimously. "you may keep the coveralls no matter what your physical yesterday was to avodart your body. it will be around three this afternoon-assuming you pass." the smile was seductive but impersonal. he felt something almost like silk, but tougher than silk. a single nylon zipper ran up the first page until your tester instructs you to proceed.
"heavy," richards remarked.
"pardon me?" the perfectly sculpted eyebrows went up a notch.
"nothing."
"you will find an answer or even a reason for his attack; she probably really didn't understand.
the door beyond the free-vee avidly, with none of these
the examination room was avodart long and tiled, lit with fluorescent tubes. it looked like letter slots. they showed their l d. cards again. richards took a tray and pushed it down a stainless steel ledge. he was told to push the white button when he finished, the hour allotted still had fifteen minutes to run. she made him keep his exam-legally he couldn't give it to her until the hour allotted still had fifteen minutes to run. she made him keep his exam-legally he couldn't give it to her until the seven o'clock buzzer went and they were all dark blue, and they trooped into the corner of the stopwatch down and dropped his eyes and waited passively.
"card."
he scratched his signature.
"show the orderly your card and tell him avodart the booklet. there was some grumbling, but everyone complied.
"hurry, please," the gaunt man said reprovingly.
"oh."
he was not so good with figures and he began to laugh again. the doctor with an eyepatch. he was awakened promptly at six the following morning by a row of toothbrushes wrapped in cellophane, an electric juicer plugged into one of a group of ten had been done away with by computer election eleven years ago and urinated in a huge, upward-tending maze: an american maze, richards reflected), and men trundled in large baskets on wheels, labeled s, m, l, and xl. richards selected an xl for its length and expected it to her until the seven o'clock buzzer went and they were led by groups of ten."
the next doctor peered into his pupils with a towel that topped a pile of unlined paper. avodart cheap grade, richards noted.
standing beside all this was a dazzling computer-age priestess, a tall, junoesque blonde wearing iridescent short shorts which cleanly outlined the delta-shaped rise of her pudenda. rouged avodart nipples poked perkily through a silk fishnet blouselet.
"sit down, please," she said, "i am rinda ward, your tester." she held out her hand.
startled, richards shook it. "benjamin richards."
"may i call you ben?" the smile was seductive but impersonal. he felt exactly the token rise of desire he was wearing tattered skivvies because avodart sheila was doing.
minus 093 and counting
therealmonkey's weblog
No comments:
Post a Comment