Outcome of long-term treatment with the 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride in idiopathic hirsutism: clinical and hormonal effects during a 1-year course of therapy and 1-year follow-up

• Published in: Fertility and sterility Vol. 66; no. 5; pp. 734 - 740
• Main Authors: Castello, Roberto, Tosi, Flavia, Perrone, Fabrizia, Negri, Carlo, Muggeo, Michele, Moghetti, Paolo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.11.1996; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: 5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors; 5α-reductase; Adult; Androstane-3,17-diol - analogs & derivatives; Androstane-3,17-diol - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Dihydrotestosterone - blood; Enzyme Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Female; Finasteride; Finasteride - adverse effects; Finasteride - therapeutic use; hirsutism; Hirsutism - blood; Hirsutism - drug therapy; Hormones. Endocrine system; Humans; Luteinizing Hormone - blood; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Testosterone - blood; Treatment Outcome; hirsutism; 5α-reductase; Finasteride; Endocrinopathy; Human; Skin disease; Enzyme; Hirsutism; Idiopathic; Oral administration; Enzyme inhibitor; Cholestenone 5α-reductase; Azasteroid; Long term; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Virilism; Female; Oxidoreductases
• ISSN: 0015-0282; 1556-5653
• DOI: 10.1016/S0015-0282(16)58627-0

To evaluate the long-term efficacy of the 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride in idiopathic hirsutism. Prospective clinical study. Outpatients in a university hospital. Fourteen young women with idiopathic hirsutism. Finasteride, 5mg once daily, was given for 12 months. Degree of hirsutism, graded by a modified Ferriman and Gallwey score, serum sex hormones, and serum and urinary markers of 5α-reductase activity. Clinical outcome was evaluated up to and including the 1-year post-treatment period. The Ferriman and Gallwey score showed a remarkable reduction after 12 months of finasteride treatment (4.4 ± 0.7 versus 11.8 ± 1.0; mean ± SEM). Serum levels of the two 5α-reductase activity markers, dihydrotestosterone and 3α-androstanediol glucuronide, decreased, and urinary C19 and C21 5β:5α steroid metabolite ratios consistently increased during finasteride administration. These changes were reversed readily after cessation of treatment. No significant adverse effect was reported. Nine of 14 women completed the 1-year post-treatment follow-up. Their hirsutism scores were increased substantially as compared with values recorded at the end of therapy, but still were lower than baseline values. The 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride is effective and well tolerated in long-term treatment of women with idiopathic hirsutism. Post-treatment follow-up suggests that drug effects on hair growth are sustained in the majority of subjects with this disorder.