Generic propecia - Finasteride

Bad news for balding women: That new baldness pill it’s selling only works for the guys.

Merck studied Propecia in 136 postmenopausal women suffering hair loss. Despite a year of therapy, the women who took Propecia had no more hair than women who got a dummy pill, Merck scientists revealed at a dermatology meeting in Belgium this weekend.

Merck announced Monday that women should not take Propecia, and that there’s no reason to continue studying it in women.

Balding women do have one therapy: the nonprescription ointment Rogaine.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Propecia in December, making it the first pill ever to combat mild to moderate male pattern baldness, the most common type. Studies indicate that about half the men who use it grow varying amounts of hair — and those who don’t grow new hair are helped to keep the strands they have left.

Merck warned at the time that women of childbearing age should not use or even touch the pills, because animal studies showed they can cause birth defects.

But doctors said postmenopausal women, whose hair can thin too, would be drawn to the pills. So Merck promised the FDA it would settle the gender question.

Scientists don’t fully understand hair loss differences between men and women. But Propecia works in some men by preventing testosterone from turning into another hormone that shrinks hair follicles — and women naturally have far less testosterone in their bodies.

Regrowth Commentary:  Many doctors who have studied hair loss and worked with Merck will not be surprised by these findings.   Why?  Several have privately commented to me that they do not feel the results in postmenopausal women, who naturally have very different hormonal levels, are reflective of what Propecia can do for women.  Why would Merck do this?  According to the doctors I have spoken to, they feel that Merck doesn’t want the hassle of dealing with possible liability of premenopausal women took the medication.  They could easily have studied infertile women or women who committed to not being pregnant if they wanted to resolve the question.  According to doctors I have talked to who have used the drug in premenopausal women, it does work.  They believe Merck hopes that this study will stop women from asking for the medication.  Good or bad?  You decide.

Finasteride in the treatment of men with frontal male pattern hair loss.

BACKGROUND: Finasteride, a specific inhibitor of type II 5alpha-reductase, decreases serum and scalp dihydrotestosterone and has been shown to be effective in men with vertex male pattern hair loss.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the efficacy of finasteride 1 mg/day in men with frontal (anterior/mid) scalp hair thinning.

METHODS: This was a 1-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled study followed by a 1-year open extension. Efficacy was assessed by hair counts (1 cm2 circular area), patient and investigator assessments, and global photographic review.

RESULTS: There was a significant increase in hair count in the frontal scalp of finasteride-treated patients (P < .001), as well as significant improvements in patient, investigator, and global photographic assessments. Efficacy was maintained or improved throughout the second year of the study. Finasteride was generally well tolerated.

CONCLUSION: In men with hair loss in the anterior/mid area of the scalp, finasteride 1 mg/day slowed hair loss and increased hair growth.

Follow the directions for using this medicine provided by your doctor. This medicine comes with a patient information leaflet. Read it carefully. This medicine may be taken on an empty stomach or with food. Store this medicine at room temperature between 59 and 86 degrees f (15 and 30 degrees c) in a tightly-closed container, away from moisture. If you miss a dose of this medicine and you remember the same day, take it as soon as possible. If you do not remember until the next day, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not take 2 doses at once.