There was a total of 12.0 million prescriptions for spironolactone in the United States in 2016 alone. It was the 66th top prescribed medication in the United States in 2016. Research
Prostate conditions
Spironolactone has been studied at a high dosage in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH; enlarged prostate). It was found to be better than placebo in terms of symptom relief following three months of treatment. However, this was not maintained after six months of treatment, by which point the improvements had largely disappeared. Moreover, no difference was observed between spironolactone and placebo with regard to volume of residual urine or prostate size. Gynecomastia was observed in about 5% of people. On the basis of these results, it has been said that spironolactone has no place in the treatment of BPH.Spironolactone has been studied and used limitedly in the treatment of prostate cancer. Epstein–Barr virus
Spironolactone has been found to block Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) production and that of other human herpesviruses by inhibiting the function of an EBV protein SM, which is essential for infectious virus production. This effect of spironolactone was determined to be independent of its antimineralocorticoid actions. Thus, spironolactone or compounds based on it have the potential to yield novel antiviral medications with a distinct mechanism of action and limited toxicity. Other conditions
Spironolactone has been studied in the treatment of rosacea in both males and females.Spironolactone has been studied in fibromyalgia in women. It has also been studied in bulimia nervosa in women, but was not found to be effective. References
External links
"Spironolactone".
One study showed that spironolactone or the steroidal antiandrogen cyproterone acetate both in combination with a birth control pill had equivalent effectiveness for hirsutism. Spironolactone is considered to be a first-line treatment for hirsutism, finasteride and the steroidal antiandrogen cyproterone acetate are considered to be second-line treatments, and flutamide is no longer recommended for hirsutism due to liver toxicity concerns. The nonsteroidal antiandrogen bicalutamide is an alternative option to flutamide with improved safety.The combination of spironolactone with a birth control pill in the treatment of acne appears to have similar effectiveness to a birth control pill alone and the combination of a birth control pill with cyproterone acetate, flutamide, or finasteride. However, this was based on low- to very-low-quality evidence. Spironolactone may be more effective than birth control pills in the treatment of acne, and the combination of spironolactone with a birth control pill may have greater effectiveness for acne than either alone. In addition, some clinical research has found that flutamide is more effective than spironolactone in the treatment of acne. In one study, flutamide decreased acne scores by 80% within 3 months, whereas spironolactone decreased symptoms by only 40% in the same time period. However, the use of flutamide for acne is limited by its liver toxicity. Bicalutamide is a potential alternative to flutamide for acne as well.