16799 Similar efficacy of maintenance treatment of finasteride 1 mg every other month compared with finasteride 1 mg daily in Korean men with androgenetic alopecia after taking finasteride 1 mg daily for 1 year

Background: Finasteride has proved to be an effective treatment for men with AGA. Daily use of finasteride 1mg for three months or more is necessary before benefit is observed. Also, treatments for AGA, including finasteride 1mg, should be continued to treat AGA and maintain therapeutic effect. Objectives: To compare the maintenance effect of finasteride 1mg regimens, daily or every other months (EOM) use, after taking finasteride 1mg daily for 1 year. Methods: We enrolled 23 Korean men with AGA who were treated with finasteride 1 mg daily for 1 year. Patients were randomly divided into two groups, and then treated with finasteride 1 mg for 1 more year. We defined daily group as 9 patients who took finasteride 1 mg daily and EOM group as 14 patients who took it EOM. Treatment efficacy was assessed by the investigator’s global assessment. The 5-point scale was as follows: 4, greatly improved; 3, moderately improved; 2, slightly improved; 1, unchanged; 0, aggravated. Results: Two patients (22.2%) showed mild improvement and 6 patients (66.7%) showed no change in daily group. Five patients (35.7%) patients showed mild improvement and 7 patients (50.0%) had no change in EOM group. There were 1 patient (11%) with aggravation in daily group and 2 patients (14.3%) with aggravation in EOM group. Conclusion: Maintenance effect of finasteride 1mg EOM dosage showed similar to that of finasteride 1mg daily dosage during 1 year in Korean men with AGA, after taking finasteride 1 mg daily for 1 year.