Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Avodart’s FDA Status?

You have mentioned that Avodart is not yet approved by FDA. Do you know what the status is on them approving it? Is it in its beginning trial stages or are the trials mostly complete and the FDA is just evaluating all of the research before making a decision. Or have they rejected it all together?

Avodart was approved by the FDA for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), in 2001. While I do not know which stage the trials are currently in, I am sure that the manufacturer of Avodart is doing all they can to speed up the FDA approval process for use in hair loss, if it is even at trials to begin with.

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Avodart and Androgenic Alopecia in Women

What information did you learn about Avodart’s effectiveness in treating androgenic alopecia at the Sept. ’05 conference in Sydney, Aust.? Any hope for female pattern hair loss?

Avodart (dutasteride) may have value in those men where Propecia (finasteride) fails to work, but as it is not FDA approved for treating hair loss I can not in good conscience wholeheartedly endorse it. It does not show value in women.

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Avodart Gave Me Severe Abdominal Cramps

Dear Sir .. I am suffering from severe hair loss since last one year.

Recently my doctor prescribe me the Dutasteride (Avodart) Medication for hair loss prevention. I continued the medication for 10 days and then I started to get severe Abdominal Muscle Cramps. After I stopped taking this medication the pain subsided slowly. I have recently read the article about Prostaglandin D2 protein and baldness on some website. Wanted to know that the Dutasteride is the cure for Prostaglandin D2.

Now I am confused that should I continue the Avodart medication or should I discontinue it permanently. I want my hair so I wanted to have your help, If you can prescribe me a good medication for hair loss prevention and regrowth .. So that I can discuss your prescription with my doctor.

Will be thankful for your reply and suggestions.

Regards

First things first — Avodart (dutasteride) is not approved for treating androgenic alopecia, and I don’t know what dose you’re even taking. I’ve read internet reports of abdominal cramping for some users upon starting Avodart, but I don’t really have much info beyond that. With respect to taking a prescription medication, you need to discuss these issues with the doctor that prescribed you the medication, especially if you feel you are having side effects!

As far as I am aware, dutasteride has no correlation with prostaglandin D2.


2012-04-03 10:27:46Avodart Gave Me Severe Abdominal Cramps

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Bad Hair Transplant Results (photos)

The arrows show large grafts at the hairline, something that should never be done as they appear pluggy. Also growth seemed either under transplanted or this man has inadequate growth. Either way, this man should get his money back and go to a good hair transplant surgeon to fix the problem


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Average Age of Developing MPB?

What would you say the average age is for men to develop MPB? I know there is a wide window, but what is considered to be the norm? (Any pattern of MPB)

Most people lose (or start to lose) their hair in their 20s. A few people have started it as early as 14, but that is unusual. I have seen others start losing their hair into their 50s or 60s.

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I Have Let My Hair Grow Out 3 Months and the Back of My Head Looks like It Is Balding

You have significant donor site depletion. This problem is caused by over-harvesting the grafts from your FUE three months earlier. The only thing you can do is to get Scalp MicroPigmentation, which will hide the balding spots, but it will not add hair.

See here: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/scar-covering/


2018-06-21 08:57:49I Have Let My Hair Grow Out 3 Months and the Back of My Head Looks like It Is Balding

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Be Aware of Seven Questionable Clinics That Offer Stem Cell Treatments

In Medscape today, there is an article with the warning of the above title. “There are a number of pitfalls for patients, noted study co-author Douglas Sipp of Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo.

“It is a problem for patients because there are inevitable risks in any invasive procedure, the vast majority of stem cell treatments being advertised online show exceedingly poor evidence of efficacy, they are costly and not reimbursed by most insurance, and more generally, the waste of time and resources on over-promoted quack remedies diverts these away from investment and use of in scientifically credible medicine,” Sipp said by email.”

In the hair industry, more and more such clinics are appearing almost weekly. There are two important issue: (1) the risks may not be inconsequential to your overall health and the health of your scalp and hair, and (2) they will be fleecing you for the money in your pockets.

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Avodart Info

A BaldingBlog reader named Greg originally posted this as a comment to a blog entry, but I’ve formatted it to make it easier to read and have reposted it here.

The FDA has found Avodart to be safe (for BHP). The side effects were very simliar if not a tad less then Proscar 5mg, which also was cleared by the FDA many years ago. I think Avodart should be indicated as a off label prescription in some instances.

  1. non-responders to Propecia
  2. When the loss of efficacy of Propecia becomes bothersome to a indivdual

One other interesting point is that the age group the FDA studied on Propecia (18-42) was quite younger than what Proscar/Avodart (50+ median age 66 approx) so the chances of sexual side effects will inherently be larger in this age demographic as opposed to Propecia… meaning the side effects are probably even closer then one thinks/ Propecia versus Avodart. The one draw back with Avodart is that there is no “human model” with type 1 suppression so there is a question on “long term” safety as with many drugs. As long as you dont have any side effects with Avodart, the long half life can only be beneficial with Androgentic Alopecia and the phase 2 studies show this. People held onto the hair they gained (even grew more) 12 weeks “after” the the medication was discontinued (0.5 mg/ 2.5 mg only). Proscar users saw a sharp decline in this time frame. I hope these facts are helpful in some way.

Thank you for your insight. I believe that what you said makes good sense. I would hope that I could adopt a similar view in an ethical/legal framework.

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Has Being Bald Affected Your Life at All?

I have done hair transplants on many of the rich and famous. Almost every one of them has told me that it improved their self-confidence and their ability to be themselves. Hair may be the single most important feature of a man. Think of a maneless lion – he might look like a lioness. I remember early in my career when I did a hairline on a Soap Opera 20 year old who was desired by the married women on the show. When he started to lose his hairline, the producers told him they were going to terminate his role. Then, he came to me, got his hair back, and they continued him on the show at about $1million/year. He told me that his image was everything to his career. It is also important to note that since Eisenhower, there has never been a balding present of the United States (except for Donald Trump who hides it poorly and is very sensitive about it). That is because the American Voter believes that balding men are not as trustworthy as hairy men (ref: Men Fitness). I wrote about this before (see here: https://baldingblog.com/bald-presidents-and-prime-ministers/).


2019-02-20 08:00:00Has Being Bald Affected Your Life at All?