User:Mr. Ibrahem/Dutasteride

Dutasteride, sold under the brand name Avodart among others, is a medication primarily used to treat the symptoms of an enlarged prostate. A few months may be required before benefits occur. It is also used for scalp hair loss in men and as a part of hormone therapy in transgender women. It is taken by mouth.

Common side effects include sexual problems, breast tenderness, and breast enlargement. Other side effects include an increased risk of certain forms of prostate cancer, depression, and angioedema. Exposure during pregnancy, including use by the partner of a pregnant women may result in harm to the baby. Dutasteride is a 5α-reductase inhibitor, and hence is a type of antiandrogen. It works by decreasing the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), an androgen sex hormone.

Dutasteride was patented in 1993 by GlaxoSmithKline and was approved for medical use in 2001. It is available as a generic medication. A month supply in the United Kingdom costs the NHS about £12 as of 2019. In the United States, the wholesale cost of this amount is about $6.66. In 2017, it was the 276th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than one million prescriptions.