Public-interest initiative2026
This project brings together research on the safety of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and selected clinical outcomes in hair loss. The aim is practical: help more people understand the outcomes observed in selected cases while keeping potential benefits, risks, and uncertainty in view.
Why this exists
Finasteride and minoxidil have decades of clinical use, yet people often meet them through fragmented claims about efficacy and harm.
Our safety research asks how study design changes what appears to be a medication risk.
The safety work
Prostate-treatment safety evidence · separate from hair-loss outcomes
Participants2,517,859
With active-comparator control groups, finasteride and dutasteride were not associated with increased depression risk.
Postgrad Med. 2026;138(2):154–161. DOI 10.1080/00325481.2026.2633464 · PMID 41725117
Participants71,307
The study suggests that finasteride and dutasteride do not meaningfully increase type 2 diabetes risk in the South Korean population studied.
Yonsei Med J. 2026;67(4):368–376. DOI 10.3349/ymj.2025.0056 · PMID 41914321
Participants1,839
Compared with tamsulosin, finasteride did not appear to increase the risk of poor glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Heliyon. 2025;11(3):e41768. DOI 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41768 · PMID 39944326
Selected outcomes
Selected cases · not a response rate
Group A · 4 cases
Pattern hair loss, including male-pattern and female-pattern presentations.
HLS-005
3 months
At three months, the follow-up photographs show greater visible coverage across the frontal scalp and crown.
Photographed under different conditions; fixed panels preserve each original view.
HLS-002
Apr → Dec 2024
From April to December 2024, the central part becomes visibly narrower, with greater scalp coverage in the follow-up photograph.
HLS-001
Selected follow-up
At the selected final follow-up, the photographs show greater visible density across the vertex and mid-scalp.
Baseline and follow-up were photographed in different settings.
HLS-003
May → Dec 2024
Treated with minoxidil alone. From May to December 2024, the follow-up photographs show greater visible coverage along the central scalp.
Hair positioning differs between visits.
Group B · 2 cases
Autoimmune hair loss, including patchy disease and alopecia totalis.
HLS-008
Approx. 2 months
Over approximately two months, from April to June 2025, the follow-up photographs show greater visible coverage across the crown and central scalp.
HLS-004
Selected follow-up
At the selected follow-up, the photographs show extensive scalp-hair coverage compared with baseline.
How to read this page
01
Cohort studies and meta-analysis estimate associations in defined populations. Their design, comparator, and uncertainty determine how far the findings travel.
02
Case photographs document what happened to particular people. They illustrate possible change and provide no population response rate.
03
Diagnosis, contraindications, monitoring, and personal priorities remain central. Decisions about treatment should be made with a qualified clinician.