LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Propecia
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Propecia is the brand name for finasteride. Finasteride inhibits conversion of the androgen (male hormone) testosterone into 5-alpha-dihydrotesterone (DHT). DHT is present in men’s hair follicles. DHT in each follicle increases as male pattern baldness begins. Propecia reverses this by decreasing the amount of DHT in hair follicle blood.
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Propecia (Finasteride) is the first and only medical treatment approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to treat Male Pattern Baldness. Propecia works by inhibiting the formation of DHT (dihydrotestosterone). Produced by Merck & Co, controlled clinical studies show that 66% of men with Male Pattern Baldness who take Propecia, regrow hair. Read more here.
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Propecia should be taken once daily with or without meals. Patients must take Finasteride for one year or longer before its effects in preventing hair loss and re-growing hair can be accurately assessed. Finasteride takes up to a year or more to exert its full effects in both preventing hair loss and in re-growing hair. During the first six months you may note some thinning of your existing hair. This may be due to either progression of your hair loss before finasteride has had a chance to work or some shedding of miniaturized hair that makes way for the new healthy anagen hair to grow. It is important to be patient during this period.
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When given in combination with oral contraceptives, Propecia can improve female-pattern hair loss in most women. At present, the main treatment for female-pattern hair loss is topical minoxidil, which is somewhat effective. Whether treatment with agents such as Propecia, which show activity against male hormones, might promote hair growth in women has been unclear. However a research group reports in Archives of Dermatology, March 2006, that women with female-pattern hair loss who were treated with Propecia in combination with an oral contraceptive did report benefits. Propecia has been linked to birth defects and that was the reason the women were given birth control pills. After 12 months of Propecia therapy, and out of 37 women treated, hair growth improvements were rated as "great" in three patients, "moderate" in eight and "slight" in twelve women.
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COST: As mentioned above, Propecia is just a 1mg version of Proscar, the 5mg tablet used for treating BPH. The ingredients in Proscar are identical. Both contain finasteride. If you can find a physician to write you a prescription for Proscar, you can get 30 tablets for about $60. The same cost for 30 tablets of Propecia. The fun part is, Proscar has 5 times the dosage, so some people split the pills into 5ths with pill cutters and take 1/5th a day.
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Propecia is prescribed to men for the treatment of male pattern baldness. As Proscar, it is prescribed for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or enlargement of the prostate gland. Propecia is classed as a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, an enzyme which changes testosterone to dihydrotestosterone in the liver. This results in shrinkage of the prostate, and the reduction of symptoms such as difficult or urgent urination. Hair loss linked to testosterone levels can be prevented, halted, or reversed in many patients.
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