THIS SECTION OF CONSUMER EDUCATION IS CONTRIBUTED BY:
DR. PROCTOR

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ANTIANDROGENS
BY DR. PROCTOR

Antiandrogens: E.g.: Proscar and Spironolactone.

Antiandrogens are often poorly-effective alone. In my experience, they are useful as adjuvants to other therapy where they 1) make it work better 2) Help prevent tolerance. Every few years, a new antiandrogen will be presented as the ultimate "solution for balding". This has yet to work out. E.g., clinical trials with cyoctal, arguably the most potent topical antiandrogen, were terminated because of lack of effectiveness.

We'll see about Proscar. aka finesteride or "Propecia", the weakest one, which has recently been FDA-approved for hair loss. Reports suggest it works about as well as topical spironolactone ( about a 50% response rate.

Interestingly, although it does not seem to work much better clinically, spironolactone is a much more potent antiandrogen than finesteride, displacing DHT at nanomolar levels ). Also, low doses of finesteride work about as well as larger ones. In fact, from the clincal experience with, e.g., treatment of prostate cancer, it seems that even complete castration doesn't work much better in balding than these antiandrogens.. This is called a "flat dose-response curve". The implication is that we may have already reached the limits of what can be obtained with antiandrogens in balding.

BTW, I have prime patents in this area ( for growth stimulators plus antiandrogens ). In fact, because of the publication of our patents, the combination of a hair growth stimulator plus and antiandrogen is now " obvious " and thus unpatentable. I sure wish antiandrogens worked better.

Possible explaination: Male hormones only initiate balding. Further, whatever hormones do seems to be mostly irreversible. The main damage to the hair follicle seems to be done by other factors, especially immunological. But I reserve the right to change my mind about this