Hirsutism problems

Cocktail of Drugs May Help Hirsutism

Researchers at the University College London Hospital in the U.K. recently examined 28 medical studies of medical treatments for hirsutism (excessive hair growth) in women with PCOS. They did not examine "alternative" treatments.

They report that seven groups of drugs showed a "significant reduction in hirsutism" The seven drug groups were flutamide, spironolactone, cyproterone acetate combined with an oral contraceptive, thiazolidinediones, oral contraceptive pills, finasteride and metformin. If you are interested in a medical approach for excessive hair growth, ask your doctor about using one or more of these medications.

However, they also found that "obesity has a negative impact on the efficacy of treatments for hirsutism, thus appropriate lifestyle advice is necessary for a successful treatment program." In other words, the more overweight you are, the less effective are the various drugs.

Source: Koulouri O et al, A systematic review of commonly used medical treatments for hirsutism in women, Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2007 Nov 2; [Epub ahead of print]

Taken from here, emphasis is mine.