BACKGROUND
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common skin disease characterized by progressive hair loss, with negative psychological impacts on patients, especially young people. The primary pathogenesis of AGA involves the action of 5α-reductase converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, leading to gradual miniaturization of genetically susceptible hair follicles. Finasteride inhibits type II 5α-reductase, while dutasteride simultaneously inhibits type I and type II 5α-reductase. Currently, finasteride is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of AGA, but its efficacy remains poor in some patients.


OBJECTIVES
This article aims to review the treatment of androgenetic alopecia with dutasteride. Oral dutasteride, intradermal injection of dutasteride (mesotherapy) and other related treatment methods are included.


METHODS
We performed a Medical Subject Heading search in the PubMed database using "androgenetic alopecia" and "dutasteride".


CONCLUSIONS
Compared to finasteride, oral dutasteride has better efficacy and comparable tolerability, and most adverse events are mild and reversible, making it an effective treatment option for AGA. Mesotherapy with dutasteride is a therapeutic option to reduce the systemic adverse effects of the drug, but there are no standardized treatment protocols and large-scale clinical trials. Microneedling combined with dutasteride solution also has its own unique efficacy for treating AGA. Liposomes or nanoparticles of dutasteride are still under development and may become a more optimized topical formulation in the future.

Dutasteride for the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia: An Updated Review.