A Pharmacogenetic Survey of Androgen Receptor (CAG)N and (GGN)N Polymorphisms in Patients Experiencing Long Term Side Effects after Finasteride Discontinuation
Erika Cecchin; Elena De Mattia; Giorgio Mazzon; Sabina Cauci; Carlo Trombetta; Giuseppe Toffoli
The International Journal of Biological Markers2014
Summary (paraphrased)
The team compared the prevalence of two androgen receptor polymorphisms, CAG-rs4045402 and GGN-rs3138869, across 69 men with androgenetic alopecia who developed persistent side effects after finasteride, 91 untreated men with alopecia, and 76 untreated men without alopecia. Extreme-length alleles of both polymorphisms were markedly more common in the PFS and alopecia groups than in controls, with odds ratios around 5.9 for the PFS group versus controls. The authors concluded these repeat lengths predict alopecia development and may flag susceptibility to persistent finasteride side effects. They called for prospective trials in other ethnicities to confirm the findings and identify further predictive markers.
Why it’s in the corpus
Foundational pharmacogenetic study suggesting AR repeat-length variants predispose men both to hair loss and to persistent side effects from finasteride.
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