title: Five-year efficacy of finasteride in 801 Japanese men with androgenetic alopecia.
abstract: Finasteride is standard medical treatment for androgenetic alopecia; however, no large studies with 5 years or more of follow up have been performed in Japan. The authors followed Japanese men with androgenetic alopecia treated with finasteride for 5 years to evaluate long-term treatment efficacy. Of 903 men treated with finasteride (1 mg/day), 801 patients were evaluated over 5 years by modified global photographic assessment. Although the proportion of improvement was high (99.4%), modified global photographic assessment scores after 5 years of treatment were lower in patients with more advanced disease as measured by the modified Norwood-Hamilton scale. After separating patients into "sufficient" and "insufficient" efficacy groups according to the modified global photographic assessment score after 5 years (scores ≥6 and <6, respectively), multivariate analysis showed that independent risk factors of insufficient efficacy were age at start of treatment of 40 years or more (P = 0.021) and classification on the modified Norwood-Hamilton scale (P < 0.001), whereas presence of stress at start of treatment was a negative predictor (P = 0.025). In conclusion, continuous finasteride treatment for 5 years improved androgenetic alopecia with sustained effect among Japanese. Younger age and less advanced disease at start of treatment were the key predictors of higher finasteride efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Plastic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.|Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.|Tokyo Memorial Clinic Hirayama, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshitake
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.|Tokyo Memorial Clinic Hirayama, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.affiliation: Tokyo Memorial Clinic Hirayama, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kensaku
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohki
authors.affiliation: Tokyo Memorial Clinic Hirayama, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: Tokyo Memorial Clinic Hirayama, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamawaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Plastic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Saori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Minekatsu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nemoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimakura
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Plastic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.|Tokyo Memorial Clinic Hirayama, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sato
mesh_terms: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000505:Alopecia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018120:Finasteride / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D058891:5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors; D018120:Finasteride
keywords: Japanese; androgenetic alopecia; finasteride; modified Norwood-Hamilton scale; modified global photographic assessment