title: Preparation and clinical evaluation of Finastride gel in the treatment of idiopathic Hirsutism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hirsutism is the presence of excess terminal hairs in females in a male-like pattern. The most accepted hypothesis for the development of hirsutism is increased 5α-reductase activity in hair follicles of hirsute women. Finasteride partially blocks the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone through inhibition of 5α-reductase in hair follicles. This study was designed to determine the efficacy of finasteride gel 0.25% in management of idiopathic hirsutism and treatment of hirsutism with topical finasteride to lessen the side-effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women after puberty that have idiopathic hirsutism criteria are divided randomly in two groups; treatment and control. The number of patients in each group is 15 and received finasteride and placebo gel once a day on their skins. The patients were visited every month by a dermatologist and the amount of response to the treatment and the patient satisfaction was recorded. Ferriman-Gallwey score of the treated area was determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 6-months, mean thickness hairs in treating group were decreased from 102.00 ± 9.58 µm to 86.4 ± 11.4 µm (p < 0.05), this difference was statistically significant. Gel application did not indicate any type of side-effects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Inclusion and exclusion criteria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Finasteride partially blocks 5α-reductase. Because of the good absorption through the skin and good solubility of this medicine, the prepared gel formulation applied on the hirsutism area showed a significant decrease in hair growth locally, so finasteride gel is an efficient and harmless therapy in patients with idiopathic hirsutism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Novel Drug Delivery Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tahvilian
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Beiki
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Novel Drug Delivery Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Hoshang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nemati
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, Novel Drug Delivery Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Sahar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masoud
keywords: Finastride; Idiopathic hirsutism; Testosterone