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Finasteride, is a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor that prevents the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). In the 5-mg dose, it has been used for the treatment of non-cancerous prostate tumors and in the 1-mg dose has been prescribed both as a prevention and treatment for early onset male pattern baldness. However, some caution was taken when a study conducted in 2003 by the National Cancer Institute suggested that while Finasteride 5mg (Proscar) might be responsible for a 25% reduction in the overall incidence of prostate cancer, it might also be responsible for an increase of 25.5% in high-grade, aggressive tumors detected in these patients when compared to the placebo group. This random study was conducted on a group of 18,000 men.

The 2003 study, however, did not conclude whether the increased incidence of high-grade tumors was caused by finasteride or if finasteride, in fact, aided in the detection of pre-existing high grade aggressive cells.

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Introduction: For many years, men were the primary beneficiaries of hair transplantation. However, with the development of more refined techniques, there are now many applications of hair transplantation in women, including the treatment of female pattern hair loss, hairline advancement, eyebrow and eyelash restoration, and the repair of the sequelae of certain plastic surgery procedures. Whereas not more than six or seven years ago seeing women in consultation about hair concerns was rather unrewarding, I now eagerly look forward to treating women due to the tools and experience I now have to successfully help them. Today, women make up over 20% of my patients, and this number continues to steadily rise.

What’s New in Hair Transplantation for Women?

What’s new for women is what has been evolving for the past seven years, to allow for many more successful applications of hair transplantation. Follicular unit grafting, now the state-of-the-art technique, has evolved during this time period to become the technique of choice, capable of creating the most natural appearing results. Of particular benefit to women is that these tiny follicular unit grafts are able to be placed into similarly tiny-sized incisions, expanding the applications to such refined areas as the eyebrows, and permitting the placement of donor hairs between existing hairs in areas of thinning.

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Move over Magnet Therapy, here comes Low Laser Light Therapy. You all may not believe it, but the latest insult to the intelligence of the general public now comes from those who advocate the use of laser beams to re-grow hair.

The never ending effort to role back common sense in the pursuit of quick cash is ever present in this enterprise. Among it’s conspirators (witting and unwitting) are doctors, scientists, news reporters, and even the U.S. Government…the very people and groups whom the general public traditionally trusts and looks to for verification and validity.

What’s all the hubbub about? I’m embarrassed to say that its about the cute little laser pointer that you may have bought at your local toy store to entertain your kids or your pets. You know the one, the little cylinder you can put on your keychain to shine a small red dot on the wall across the room. That one. Read the Story

Finasteride, which is the generic name for Propecia, has been approved for the treatment of Male Pattern Hair Loss since 1998. Finasteride works by inhibiting the enzyme ,5 alpha reductase type II, that forms DHT. There has been a lot of interest by both patients and physicians in dutasteride, which is a drug that inhibits both type I and type II 5 alpha reductase enzyme. Read the Story