Emerging evidence & commentary on risks of finasteride as a treatment for hair loss
SUMMARY: Post-drug disorders are not side effects that linger, but lasting changes that may be severe and irreversible. These disorders are linked to prescribed drugs as well as recreational drugs, and can arise after one dose or chronic abuse. This post covers post-drug disorders linked to use of alcohol, hallucinogens, antidepressants, benzodiazepenes, isotretinoin (also known … Read more
The websites Drugs.com and Ask a Patient collect reviews of drugs. Here are selected reviews of finasteride, taken by men for hair loss conditions. The dates range from 2008 to 2023.
Men turn to saw palmetto, a plant-based supplement, because prescription drugs may be unavailable or too costly. Some see the palm supplement as having a lower risk of side effects. Regulators say it is safe, but online, it is not difficult to find reports of men with adverse experiences after using saw palmetto which resemble the post-finasteride disorder.
Today’s episode of the popular Huberman Lab Podcast is titled “The Science of Healthy Hair, Hair Loss and How to Regrow Hair.” It includes a five-minute discussion of post-finasteride syndrome. In the segment, Huberman raises an issue that has been little-discussed in the literature: the role of the androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in development throughout the … Read more
Despite serious methodological shortcomings—including the preposterous use of on-drug safety data as a proxy for a post-drug condition—the authors nevertheless blame the post-drug syndrome on patient shortcomings. Zhang et al. have yoked bad logic to biased data in order to deflect attention away from drug harms.
Six months after discontinuing a Phase 3 finasteride trial, a man’s sexual adverse experience was unresolved. There were also 16 men whose drug-related sexual adverse experiences were unresolved at the conclusion of the trial.
A 2018 article disclosed that Dr. Kevin McVary had been retained as an expert for Merck’s defense in litigation regarding persistent adverse effects (AEs) of finasteride.1 Dr. McVary has also been relatively active as a contributor of three conference abstracts, an original article, an expert review, a quote in a media story and a symposium presentation … Read more
By arrangement with the publisher, full text of the following paper is available: Howell S, Song W, Pastuszak A, Khera M. Differential gene expression in post-finasteride syndrome patients. J Sex Med. 2021;18(9):1479–1490. doi:10.1016/j.jsxm.2021.05.009. PMID: 34247957. Abstract Background An organic etiology underpinning post-finasteride syndrome, a constellation of persistent sexual, neuropsychiatric, and somatic symptoms reported by men … Read more
A YouTube user comments: “The first step to a solution is admitting there is a problem and there are so many doctors out there who don’t know this exists or don’t want to know.”
The Bald Truth is a radio show about hair loss which, according to its website, “has been advising listeners on issues ranging from building self confidence and creating sexual attraction to overcoming…the modern man’s Achilles’ heel, male pattern baldness.” Host Spencer Kobren founded the show over 19 years ago, and there are over 2,200 episodes … Read more