Dutasteride is a medication primarily used to treat the symptoms of an enlarged prostate and for scalp hair loss in men and as a part of hormone therapy in transgender women.
It is also used for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), colloquially known as an enlarged prostate.
Dutasteride is approved for the treatment of male androgenetic alopecia in many countries at a dosage of 0.5 mg per day.
It has been found in several studies to induce hair regrowth in men more rapidly and to a greater extent than even the highest approved dosage of finasteride. The superior effectiveness of dutasteride relative to finasteride for this indication is related to the fact that the inhibition of 5 alfa reductase and consequent reduction of DHT production within the hair follicles is more complete with dutasteride.
Dutasteride is also used off label in the treatment of female pattern hair loss.
