Finasteride for Women

Celebrating 10 years of Iorizzo study

This is the 10 year anniversary since Iorizzo and colleagues from Bologna, Italy published a study which renewed interest in the use of finasteride for the treatment of female pattern hair loss.

Iorizzo and colleagues looked at the benefit of finasteride at a dose of 2.5 mg in 37 women diagnosed with female pattern hair loss. All women in the study were also using a birth control pill.

After 12 months of follow up, 62 % of women using finasteride had an improvement in hair density. 13 patients (30 %) hair loss had stabilized,  it did not get worse but  did not improve. Only 1 of 37 patients experienced a worsening of their hair density.

This was an important study. The 2000 study was Price and colleagues (see next blog) really called into question whether finasteride helped at all for women with female pattern (genetic) hair loss. 

This study suggested that finasteride could help with 62 % getting some improvement (30 % getting a fairly nice improvement). More studies are needed to understand who responds and who doesn't and how all the antiandrogens rank (finasteride, spironolactone, dutasteride, flutamide, cyproterone acetate).

Reference
Iorizzo M1, Vincenzi C, Voudouris S, Piraccini BM, Tosti A. Finasteride treatment of female pattern hair loss.
Iorizzo M, et al. Arch Dermatol. 2006.