|
Dr. Alan J. Bauman is the Founder, Medical Director and Chief Surgeon of the Bauman Medical Group, P.A. located in Wharfside at Boca Pointe in Boca Raton, Florida. His practice is dedicated exclusively to treating male and female pattern hair loss. Dr. Bauman uses state-of-the-art medical and surgical techniques to help his patients maintain and/or restore their scalp hair.
derek 2005-11-10
avodart -- effective on the crown of the head only?
I'm 26 years old and I've been using Propecia for approximately 2 years without success--my frontal hairline has continued to recede, and the thinning at my temples has been especially pronounced during the past few months. (I was also using Minoxodil but discontinued it ~18 months ago when I learned that it was only effective on the crown and useless against my type of loss).
I want to switch to Adovart since I'd like to see if I can get a greater benefit from blocking more DHT than Propecia does. I'm wondering if you think that could work, and whether Adovart is similarly limited to the crown area. (As I understand, minoxodil works exclusively on the the crown, whereas propecia is focused there but may have some effect elsewhere, too--unfortunately on me it just didn't.) Is there some reason why frontal loss is not affected by blocking DHT? Does loss there happen by a different process?
Derek,
All non-invasive treatments (propecia, minoxidil, laser therapy, etc.) don't tend to work as well in the frontal area. This is typically because there is just less density there to begin with. All non-invasive treatments work on your follicles that are 'still alive.' In the frontal/temporal areas, more hair loss has already occurred there than in other areas (like the crown/vertex). Also, some people simply don't respond as well to these non-invasive treatments than others. I have some serious concerns regarding Avodart. For example, if you have a side effect on Avodart, it will take weeks for the medication to "leave your system." Also, there just aren't the safety studies for Avodart, like we have for Propecia.
For a full consultation, you need to fill out the form on my website: www.baumanmedical.com
Regards,
doctorb@baumanmedical.com
Click here to return to Dr. Alan J. Bauman, MD's Q&A page.
|