Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
ReportsLack of efficacy of finasteride in postmenopausal women with androgenetic alopecia☆,☆☆,★
Section snippets
Patient population
Women were eligible for the study if they were 59 years of age or younger at screening, in good physical and mental health, postmenopausal (and amenorrheic for at least 1 year, but no more than 10 years), and had a serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level of 40 mIU/mL or more. They had to have mild to moderate frontal hair thinning assessed as grade 1 or 2 on the Ludwig classification3 and 3, 4, or 5 on the Savin Female Density Scale.4, 26
Study design
This was a 1-year, double-blind,
Baseline characteristics
One hundred thirty-seven women with mild to moderate hair thinning in the frontal/mid scalp region were enrolled in the study. The two treatment groups were similar in terms of all baseline characteristics (Table I).
Empty Cell Finasteride 1 mg (n = 67) Placebo (n = 70) Mean age ± SD (y) 53 ± 4 53 ± 5 (range 42-60 y) (range 41-60 y) Mean time since last menses ± SD (y) 8 ± 6 7 ± 5 Mean reported age at onset of hair loss ± SD (y) 43 ± 11 44 ± 9 (range 14-56
Discussion
This 12-month study demonstrated that finasteride 1 mg did not improve scalp hair growth in postmenopausal women with AGA. Analysis of hair count data after 1 year of therapy revealed that patients in both the finasteride and placebo groups had modest, but statistically significant, decreases in hair counts from baseline. These decreases in hair count for the two treatment groups were not significantly different. Analysis of the other efficacy end points also failed to demonstrate any effect of
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Cited by (0)
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Supported by Merck Research Laboratories.
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Reprint requests: Joanne Waldstreicher, MD, Merck Research Laboratories, RY33-508, 126 East Lincoln Ave, Rahway, NJ 07065-0900.
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J Am Acad Dermatol 2000;43:768-76