GSK Publishes Japanese Dutasteride Study Results

I previously wrote about dutasteride possibly being approved by the US FDA to treat hair loss in 2015.  In August 2014, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) published 6-month interim results from a Japanese clinical study of 120 male patients with androgenetic alopecia taking 0.5 mg of dutasteride daily.  You can also download the findings by clicking on the Result Summary tab here and then clicking on the pdf link there.

It should be noted that all patients were Japanese and four patients withdrew from the trial.  Key findings:

  1. 81 percent of patients saw at least some increase in vertex hair count (10 percent saw a great increase, 33 percent saw a moderate increase).
  2. 71 percent of patients saw at least some increase in frontal hair count (8 percent saw a great increase, 32 percent saw a moderate increase).
  3. Only one patient saw a decrease in vertex hair count, and only one patient saw a decrease in frontal hair count.  It is not clear if this was the same patient.  Both saw only a slight decrease.
    (My note: For all intents and purposes, this implies that Dutasteride guarantees at the very least hair loss cessation after 6 months of use).
  4. 11 percent of patients reported erectile dysfunction as a side effect and slightly smaller percentages of patients reported decreased libido, ejaculation disorders and sexual dysfuntion.(My note: Since each patient can report more than one side effect, I am guessing that most of the 11 percent reporting erectile dysfunction also reported the other sexual side effects I listed above.  However, the end of the pdf states that 38 percent of patients had side effects, which I think is an error as they are ignoring multiple side effect reports).

For 6 months, I found the hair loss related results slightly better than expected, but the side effects slightly worse than expected.  I am assuming here that something like 15-20 percent of patients had side effects rather than 38 percent as reported, based on my assumption that multiple side effects on one person were reported individually (i.e., double, triple… counted) for some reason.

If 38 percent of patients really did get side effects, we will not see Dutasteride getting approved to treat hair loss in the US or Japan in my opinion.

8 thoughts on “GSK Publishes Japanese Dutasteride Study Results”

    1. These results sound a bit too good to be true. Given the spectacular failure of fin to so much as slow my loss and its relative efficacy next to dut’s (regrowth wise), this seems a bit sketchy. An efficacy of 98.4% (or 99.2% if the vertex/front were the same patient, an order of magnitude fewer non-responders than Fin’s 90%) seems way too good to be true, esp. given all the people that claim Dut ruined their hair.

      I agree though, the ED seems pretty high. I can see decreased libido being that high, but actual ED? Hm!

      Still though this leaves me tempted to at least try.

      1. Whats different for Japanese men is that MPB has 10 years later onset than in caucasian men, this gives a greater success rate since Dut, same as Fin, is shown to work best in men above 30 with late onset MPB. If youre a 20 year old white male who started shedding at age 17 your chances are far smaller.

        The Average age of MPB onset in Japan is closer to 40 years of age, very significant difference compared to white, and most black, males with mpb.

    2. Ah retro… more than 2 years has passed and duta has become much more acceptable, hairlossers needed time to realize that fin isnt working too well and duta is actually not strong but just about at the level it need to be.

      Hormonal manipulation is only in its infancy, it will become a popular way to enhance human beings, obesity surgery will become a crude barbaric way of the past, kids will say “what, they really cut them open in 2017 when simple efficient hormone manipulation cures were already available?? Like cutting was better than taking one pill every week? Wow thats so twisted… Our parents really did live in the stone age.”

  1. I’m 27 and I’ve been using finasteride since I was 22; very good initial results in conjunction with monixidll but starts to gradually fade and hair loss continued back to where I started. Started on dutasteride three months ago with no side effects and I’m confident I will be able to maintain my hair line for years to come until a better option is available.

  2. I caution anyone thinking about taking these drugs.
    I took both dutasteride (8 months) and finastride (4 months before that).
    4 years later I still live with terrible side effects. Very slow thought, memory problems, very little emotion/motivation too and of course the sexual sides.
    I’m in contact with others in the same boat through the PFS foundation and its now confirmed.
    The worst part is most professionals don’t believe it or are clueless.

    1. Use of 5AR inhibitors for females are controversial at best, most of the ladies using it with success are transgenders who are genetically MALE, and most of them again are on hormone replacement therapy in addition to Dutasteride.

      We dont yet know much about PFS and how many members are hoping to score big on lawsuits, but i do know that i have used Fin earlier with no serious sides, now on Dut and the sides are only positive.

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