Emerging evidence & commentary on risks of finasteride as a treatment for hair loss
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.
Filings from lawsuits alleging persistent adverse effects of Propecia and Proscar in various jurisdictions in the United States and Canada, dating from 2011 to 2021.
These documents from 2006–2009 concern Merck’s response to postmarketing reports of persistent erectile dysfunction, male infertility and depressive disorders, among other adverse events, associated with use of finasteride. In 2006, the Swedish Medical Products Agency asked Merck for an analysis of all adverse events affecting the male reproductive system which persisted after stopping Propecia. In … Read more
See also: The Merck files: a series In regulatory, internal and media communications in the 2000s, Merck responded to concerns about reports of adverse events associated with Propecia, including persistent erectile dysfunction and depression. These documents seek to discount the validity of these reports by way of the following points: “insufficient” information including lack of … Read more
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
A fourth study has been published in the ‘literature of doubt’. Read the rebuttal. Background on the co-author of Baas et al, 2018 with a disclosed conflict of interest is here. Three studies analyzing adverse event (AE) data related to finasteride and dutasteride were published from 2018–2020 (the “AE papers”).1–3 The first to appear, by Baas … Read more
Summary This post documents adverse events (AEs) of finasteride affecting male reproductive anatomy and sexual function in men age 18–40, reported to US FDA from 2000 to 2020. See the Methodology section for more details. Categories in the table are not in the source data, but were applied based on AE descriptions: Category Adverse events(2000–2020) … Read more
These have been compiled from social media. Links to original posts and comments are provided after each quote. This is not some easy cure-pill… I know enough now… this drug is def not worth it. Dangerous. This drug was beyond serious for me. Was on it for nearly 5 months straight. Knew what I was … Read more
These posts and comments were found on social media sites such as Reddit. Links to original posts are provided below each post. I’m genuinely just scared that I’m stuck like this and there’s no one I can go to for help. I need some comfort in my situation please I took finasteride a few days … Read more
See systematic reviews and meta-analyses published since this April 2021 post. In the last three years, over 100 papers have been published related to adverse effects of finasteride. It can be hard to keep up with this volume of research output. This post offers highlights of two systematic reviews/meta-analyses. These types of papers select and … Read more