With identical twins, you can be sure that the genetics of both twins is exactly the same. This is an interesting thing when it comes to genetic-based conditions, because it can make it more clear just how much environmental factors play a role (if they do at all), or just how well a treatment works for the condition when set against a placebo.
In the case of male pattern hair loss, this is a hereditary condition where the hair follicles have a predisposed sensitivity to DHT. DHT is a hormone that is formed from some of the testosterone your body produces, and it can lead to shrunken hair follicles that produce finer and shorter hair over time, potentially leading to various levels of baldness or thinning.
One study ventured to identify how well a common off-label male pattern hair loss treatment would work for retaining or improving hair if one twin took the medication and the other took a placebo treatment instead.
Dutasteride is the medication under assessment here, and it is in the class of medications called 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. Finasteride is another popular medication also in this same drug class. These medications aim to help with male pattern hair loss by reducing the amount of testosterone that gets converted into DHT -- thus helping to slow the progression and extent of patterned hair loss.
This particular study consisted of 17 sets of identical male twins with male pattern hair loss (also known as androgenetic alopecia). The twins were randomized to take either 0.5mg of Dutasteride by mouth, or a placebo capsule with no medication, every day for a year.
At the end of the study, the twins had their hair assessed to see if any noticeable changes had developed. The improvements were assessed using photographs, hair counts, and self-assessment questionnaires.
16 of the 17 original sets of twins were able to complete the trial, and when the 16 sets were asked to predict who was on the real medication and who was taking the placebo, 15 of the twin sets were able to correctly identify the treatment twin due to the pronounced hair improvements. The 16th set of twins felt that their hair looked basically the same still, so could not predict who had taken the medication.
The authors of the study suggest that 15 out of 16 sets of twins seeing significant hair improvements as compared to their placebo-controlled twin gives evidence of Dutasteride being a beneficial treatment to help slow the progression of male pattern hair loss.
Dutasteride is a prescription-only medication, and is only used for male pattern hair loss treatment off-label. So, you need to speak with a doctor who is familiar with this off-label usage in order to get started on this therapy.
Here at Strut, our doctors specialize in hair loss treatments and can identify if a Dutasteride treatment regimen is a good fit for you. If you are interested in a Dutasteride male pattern hair loss treatment, simply select the medication from our secure telemedicine platform and complete a free online questionnaire and image-based consultation with our U.S. licensed doctors in under 15 minutes.
If you are a good candidate for a Dutasteride treatment, your medication will be shipped to your front door with our free shipping.
If you have any questions about your medication or need dosage adjustments on future refills, our staff and doctors are available to help you through the process with our free and unlimited follow-ups.
.png)
.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=icon}
