Mid-year update
Drug regulators in France and Canada announced new warnings. A popular podcast discussed post-finasteride syndrome, while men’s fitness influencers urged followers to avoid finasteride.
News
Men’s fitness influencers are raising alarms about finasteride risks
Fitness influencers draw in an audience of younger men who want to be stronger, better-performing, and in some cases more attractive. Some guys worry that hair loss will dim their prospects for dating, sex and relationships—or even professional success. In the era of Instagram, body-hacking and telehealth companies such as Hims and Keeps, young men’s … Read more
Regulators are waking from their slumber
Agencies in France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States are strengthening warnings about finasteride risks
A rundown of new bibliographies & research guides
The research base spans many disciplines and goes back almost 50 years. To help researchers get oriented, an on-ramp was added. In the Systems & functions area, a new bibliography was added: Adverse effects on skin, comprising nine case reports. The gynecomastia bibliography has been expanded. The bibliography on the musculoskeletal system has been expanded … Read more
2022 – year in review
Regulators added warnings, the New York Post covered finasteride harms, and two influencers urged followers to avoid the drug.
Recent developments
In June 2022, the FDA required the addition of ‘suicidal ideation and behavior’ to the Propecia (finasteride 1 mg) label. In July, France’s national drug regulator ANSM added materials to help patients better understand the risks of finasteride.
FDA quashed internal warning on suicidality linked to Propecia; changed course in 2022
In 2010, Merck requested to add a warning of depression to the Propecia label. A safety group within FDA concurred, but FDA’s dermatology products group did not support the change. Over a decade later, FDA required the addition of ‘suicidal ideation and behavior’ to the Propecia label.
News – August 2021
SUMMARY The Sexual Medicine Society of North America hosted a webinar including a talk about sexual dysfunction induced by finasteride and SSRIs. A study by Baylor researchers finding altered gene expression in post-finasteride patients was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. The FDA added a new adverse event to the Propecia label: Hematospermia. The … Read more