A new 24 week study has come out about Dutasteride/Avodart.

http://www.baldingblog.com/2006/11/27/new-study-dutasteride-vs-finasteride/

it's funny because I remember a year ago people on here talked about Avodart, but I didn't want to risk it. Now that I read this new study, and my hair is continuing to thin i'm going to see an HT doc this Winter break and get a prescription. Sure, long-term it's a little risky because the half-life is so much longer, but so what? I'm 20 and losing my hair, I dont give a shit if I can't get an erection without taking a pill when i'm 40.

This information is not new, but consider this, long term evaluation of this drug had yet to come, as had been the case with Propecia. Due to the fact it inhibits the 5AR-1 enzyme in addition to 5AR-2 (Propecia) long term safety is unknown. Its impressive results on hair growth were really evident at 2.5mg, five times the recommended dosage for prostate enlargement. At the standard dosage of 0.5mg the results were less impressive.

Also take into consideration, long term suppression of 5AR-1 is unknown. What is unknown is that the brain has a high concentration of this enzyme, what can happen if you shut it down longterm, no one knows yet. It may possible its absense may cause unknown neurological implications.

Don't be a guinea pig, play it safe, use Propecia, when and if a biological model is developed for Avodart then you can make the transition.

Its safe for a 50year old man, and has been shown to have similar but ever so slightly greater side effects compared to propecia in short term studies...you will not be growing a third leg, wait is that really a bad thing?..All joking aside, you should begin with propecia to see how your body reacts to a DHT inhibitor for a year, then if the coast is clear of side effects consider avodart (still realizing the unknown associated risk)...I find it superior to propecia personally and have taken both...But I stress only after I used propecia and had no issues did I decide to take the chance. Personally I believe that people who are prescribe avodart currently are in an age group that is more at risk of neurological melt downs like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, hence a 50 year old on the drug till he is 60 vs a 28 year old on the drug till he is 38, but this is just my guess nothing more.

Also cousin_it from the results I have seen on the net.. (.5mg) of avodart tested superior to propecia at any dosage regarding %dht blocked.. so do you mean avodart at .5mg is less impressive then avodart at 2.5 daily?... it is superior drug to combat hair loss period (again based on non medical self evaluation). It has the risk of uncertainty yes, but results are better across the board....in fact I will have to look this up but .2mg of avodart inhibits more dht then taking proscar 5mg daily.

Jack do as much research on avodart as you can before making the jump, even ask you general practitioner what he thinks. If you do decide you should get a yearly blood test to insure you are not harming your self.

bay

This is the information I am referring to. As you can see at 6 months Avodart has grown 96 hairs in the one inch area tested at 0.5mg, the usual dosage taken by most for MPB. This also shows that in comparison, Finesteride grew 72 hairs in the same area at 5mg, a net gain of 24 hairs.

Now take this into consideration, as per Merck, 1mg Finesteride grew as much as 5mg in thier tests! So this study can be very deceptive by using 5mg, makes you think that it is so much more potent than Propecia 1mg. One additional study showed that at one year, Finesteride grew 86 hairs in the one inch test area, whereas Avodart grew 102, net gain 16.

The big problem here is that these drugs have to be used a very long time, you just don't take them, cure your problem and that's it. They have not developed a biological model for Avodart yet, so its long term effects cannot be ascertained. In essence, guys using it today are doing the clinical trials for Smith Klein, only time will tell what the results will be.

Honestly guys, all this may be very very dangerous, but really, is life worth living if one is bald as a cue ball?

But seriosuly, I'm on 3mg avodart a day with no side effects what so ever. My friend is on 10mg & he's growing hair in places on his head that he hasn't had in years. EVERYTHING is dose dependent & since the studies were done on 5mg, I think taking .5mg is too little. It's like taking propecia instead of a tab of proscar.

It's nice to here you guys are getting good results with Avodart. However, how can you guys' afford 3mg and 10 mg per day--that's like 180$/month and 600$/month, respectively for generics. Real Avodart double that. I'm on .5 mg, I just can't jusify spending that much a month unless I was getting amaxing results.

quote:

Originally posted by Cousin_It:

Also take into consideration, long term suppression of 5AR-1 is unknown. What is unknown is that the brain has a high concentration of this enzyme, what can happen if you shut it down longterm, no one knows yet. It may possible its absense may cause unknown neurological implications.
.

When it comes to the Avodart (Duasteride) versus Propecia/Proscar (Finasteride) everyone needs to do their research and see where they land. Cousin's comment above steered me to Finasteride. Purely a personal choice as, for me, the risk of unknowns with the removal of 5AR-1 from the brain wasn't worth it.

quote:

It's nice to here you guys are getting good results with Avodart. However, how can you guys' afford 3mg and 10 mg per day--that's like 180$/month and 600$/month, respectively for generics. Real Avodart double that. I'm on .5 mg, I just can't jusify spending that much a month unless I was getting amaxing results.

Jesus, are you serious? I had no idea it was so expensive! I heard some people say that Proscar is sometimes covered on people's insurance because the insurance companies don't know it's for hair, not prostate. Maybe Avodart would have the same situation since its treatment for hair is still off-label? Hopefully, b/c there's no way i don't think i could justify that much money unless it was making a HUGE difference. Although, $180, that's just $6 a day. When you put it that way, doesn't seem quite as bad.

I agree with Cousin, why take a chance while the research is still pending, also, why pay all that extra money as well.

If you are a bad responder to Finasteride, my guess is that your chances of success with Dutasteride would be slim. If however, you are a good responder, either one would probably be successful.

I would be careful on advise as to how great Dutasteride is without recommending guys start with Finasteride first. Younger guys may decide to skip the Propecia altogetther and go for the stronger stuff. IMO, I think that is risky, maybe not necessary and very costly.