Does spironolactone work in the Same way as Propecia?? Please help...

[ANDREW_J_I]

I am very curious to know as to whether propecia and spironolactone do the same thing?

Obviously spironolactone is not absorbed systematically, avoiding side affects that occur on propecia. But, do they work in the same way?

Iv seen alot of people say that spironolactone will maintain but not regrow, whereas propecia has been known to regrow alot of hair.

How are these two different? Sorry if im missing something, but it puzzles me....

 

[ANDREW_J_I]

Any1?

Doesnt seem to be many active users anymore, wierd....

 

[Bryan]

Finasteride is a 5a-reductase inhibitor. It reduces the conversion of testosterone to DHT in the hair follicle and other parts of the body.

In the context of fighting hairloss, spironolactone is mainly an androgen receptor blocker (although it may also have certain other more subtle effects on androgens). It presumably helps block the effects of androgens (ALL androgens) on hair follicle cells.

 

[ANDREW_J_I]

Thank You for the reply!

Sorry to be abit stupid, but is the 5a-reductase an androgen?

Therefore, if spironolactone is stopping ALL androgens in the hair follicle, is it more effective than propecia if used correctly? I mean its not stopping anything else in the body (spironolactone) but is doing a great job on the scalp. Isn't that exactly what we need? Is it in a way, a propecia solution?

 

[Bryan]

Sorry to be abit stupid, but is the 5a-reductase an androgen?

No, it's an enzyme which exists in certain cells. It performs certain chemical conversions, the most infamous of which is turning testosterone into DHT.

Therefore, if spironolactone is stopping ALL androgens in the hair follicle, is it more effective than propecia if used correctly? I mean its not stopping anything else in the body (spironolactone) but is doing a great job on the scalp. Isn't that exactly what we need? Is it in a way, a propecia solution?

Those are controversial questions!

I think if you were to poll everybody on all the hairloss sites, relatively few people would really believe that topical spironolactone is as effective as Propecia. The reason for that is that topical spironolactone isn't as effective as certain other topical antiandrogens like RU58841. In other words, spironolactone fights the effects of androgens to at least some degree, but almost certainly isn't 100% effective against them.

 

[ANDREW_J_I]

ic. But RU is expensive and not proven??

Or is there studies on it?

 

[Bryan]

There are several published studies on topical RU58841, including a few with balding stumptailed macaques. Topical RU was found in one such study to be more effective against balding in those monkeys than even HUGE oral doses of finasteride, which is one of the main reasons that people are so interested in RU! It may be the most effective topical antiandrogen ever developed.

 

[ANDREW_J_I]

wow!! That sounds good, but how come they are not approving it for hairloss etc?

What type of price would i be looking at, realistically per month to use RU? And where is the best place to get it?

Thanks Bryan, ur replies are much appreciated, cheers!!