Propecia and Finasteride
Hair loss in men is almost always the result of androgenic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness.
This type of hair loss affects up to 70% of men eventually. The “pattern” to male pattern baldness generally includes a receding hairline at the temples, and thinning of hair at the top of the head. Genetic inheritance is largely responsible for male pattern baldness, though there are some environmental factors like malnutrition and illnesses such as thyroid disorders that can contribute to hair loss.
Male pattern baldness takes place when the hormone testosterone is converted into a form called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which directly affects hair follicles, causing them to shrink, producing progressively finer hair and eventually no hair. Genes determine how rapidly this process happens, and at what age it starts. There are medical treatments for male pattern hair loss, the most popular of which is an oral drug sold under the trade name Propecia.
History of Propecia
Back in the 1970s, medical researchers studying children born with ambiguous gender characteristics discovered that these children, initially raised as girls, eventually developed masculine characteristics after puberty. A genetic mutation caused a deficiency in an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase as well as a deficiency of DHT. Once grown, these individuals had underdeveloped prostate glands and did not get male pattern baldness.
Later, a researcher at pharmaceutical company Merck set out to develop a drug that could mimic aspects of the genetic condition affecting those children for purposes of treating older men with enlarged prostate glands. The result was a drug called finasteride, which was approved at a dosage of 5 mg in 1992 and marketed under the trade name Proscar. Not only did Proscar help the prostate shrink, it tended to slow, stop, or reverse male pattern hair loss. In 1997, a lower dosage (1 mg) of finasteride was approved specifically for treatment of male pattern baldness under the name Generic Propecia tabs USA.
What Makes Propecia Work?
Propecia is known as a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, which reduces the levels of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase. With less of this enzyme available, less testosterone can be converted into DHT, so follicles are less affected. If follicles are already shrunken due to high DHT levels, they may stop shrinking, or shrink at a slower rate. In some men, follicles may recover to the point that hair growth begins again, with hair gradually getting thicker.
In initial studies of men with mild to moderate hair loss, two-thirds of those who took 1 mg finasteride every day regrew some hair, and men who did not take finasteride all lost hair. When photographs of men in the study were reviewed by independent dermatologists, around half were confirmed to have visible hair regrowth, and another 42% experienced no further hair loss.
The drug has to be taken every day in order for it to be effective, and if a man stops taking it, hair loss will resume. Finasteride has produced results at the hairline and at the crown area, but is more successful in slowing, stopping, or reversing hair loss at the crown.
If you have a problem with certain yeast and fungal infections, you should try Diflucan that is used for its treating and preventing.
Hair loss in men is almost always the result of androgenic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness.
This type of hair loss affects up to 70% of men eventually. The “pattern” to male pattern baldness generally includes a receding hairline at the temples, and thinning of hair at the top of the head. Genetic inheritance is largely responsible for male pattern baldness, though there are some environmental factors like malnutrition and illnesses such as thyroid disorders that can contribute to hair loss.
Male pattern baldness takes place when the hormone testosterone is converted into a form called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which directly affects hair follicles, causing them to shrink, producing progressively finer hair and eventually no hair. Genes determine how rapidly this process happens, and at what age it starts. There are medical treatments for male pattern hair loss, the most popular of which is an oral drug sold under the trade name Propecia.
History of Propecia
Back in the 1970s, medical researchers studying children born with ambiguous gender characteristics discovered that these children, initially raised as girls, eventually developed masculine characteristics after puberty. A genetic mutation caused a deficiency in an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase as well as a deficiency of DHT. Once grown, these individuals had underdeveloped prostate glands and did not get male pattern baldness.
Later, a researcher at pharmaceutical company Merck set out to develop a drug that could mimic aspects of the genetic condition affecting those children for purposes of treating older men with enlarged prostate glands. The result was a drug called finasteride, which was approved at a dosage of 5 mg in 1992 and marketed under the trade name Proscar. Not only did Proscar help the prostate shrink, it tended to slow, stop, or reverse male pattern hair loss. In 1997, a lower dosage (1 mg) of finasteride was approved specifically for treatment of male pattern baldness under the name Generic Propecia tabs USA.
What Makes Propecia Work?
Propecia is known as a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, which reduces the levels of the enzyme 5-alpha reductase. With less of this enzyme available, less testosterone can be converted into DHT, so follicles are less affected. If follicles are already shrunken due to high DHT levels, they may stop shrinking, or shrink at a slower rate. In some men, follicles may recover to the point that hair growth begins again, with hair gradually getting thicker.
In initial studies of men with mild to moderate hair loss, two-thirds of those who took 1 mg finasteride every day regrew some hair, and men who did not take finasteride all lost hair. When photographs of men in the study were reviewed by independent dermatologists, around half were confirmed to have visible hair regrowth, and another 42% experienced no further hair loss.
The drug has to be taken every day in order for it to be effective, and if a man stops taking it, hair loss will resume. Finasteride has produced results at the hairline and at the crown area, but is more successful in slowing, stopping, or reversing hair loss at the crown.
If you have a problem with certain yeast and fungal infections, you should try Diflucan that is used for its treating and preventing.