Finasteride
is an orally administered drug approved for
male-patterned baldness manufactured by
Merck, Inc. Finasteride helps regrow hair in many men, that is a
fact. In the United States, finasteride is sold as Propecia and other trade
names, and minoxidil is sold as Rogaine. See
hair for more
information. If you suffer from finasteride side effect of sexual
dysfunction or low libido, consider 4rx which could, in many cases, reverse this low
libido.

Finasteride and women
When given in combination with oral contraceptives, finasteride can improve
female-pattern hair loss in most women. At present, the main treatment for
female-pattern hair loss is topical minoxidil, which is somewhat effective.
Whether treatment with agents such as finasteride, which show activity against
male hormones, might promote hair growth in women has been unclear. However a
research group reports in Archives of Dermatology, March 2006, that women with
female-pattern hair loss who were treated with finasteride in combination with
an oral contraceptive did report benefits. Finasteride has been linked to birth
defects and that was the reason the women were given birth control pills. After
12 months of finasteride therapy, and out of 37 women treated, hair growth
improvements were rated as “great” in three patients, “moderate” in eight and
“slight” in twelve women. Thirteen women had no improvement and one patient
experienced a worsening of her female-pattern hair loss.

Avodart or finasterideBoth Avodart and
finasteride are available to treat an enlarged prostate. I am not sure which
drug is better. Both Avodart and finasteride can also treat male pattern hair
loss.

The importance of dual 5alpha-reductase inhibition in
the treatment of male pattern hair loss: results of a randomized
placebo-controlled study of
dutasteride versus
finasteride.J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006 Dec;55(6):1014-23. .
Male pattern hair loss is a potentially reversible condition in which
dihydrotestosterone is an important etiologic factor. Our aim was to evaluate
the efficacy of the type 1 and 2 5alpha-reductase inhibitor dutasteride in men
with male pattern hair loss. Four hundred sixteen men, 21 to 45 years old, were
randomized to receive dutasteride 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 or 2.5 mg, finasteride 5 mg, or
placebo daily for 24 weeks. Dutasteride increased target area hair count versus
placebo in a dose-dependent fashion and dutasteride 2.5 mg was superior to
finasteride at 12 and 24 weeks. Dutasteride increases scalp hair growth in men
with male pattern hair loss. Type 1 and type 2 5alpha-reductase may be important
in the pathogenesis and treatment of male pattern hair loss.

Finasteride and acne
Effect of finasteride 5 mg (Proscar) on acne and alopecia in female patients
with normal serum levels of free testosterone.Gynecol Endocrinol. 2007 Mar;23(3):142-5. Kohler C, Tschumi K, Bodmer C,
Schneiter M, Birkhaeuser M.
Division of Gynaecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, Department
Ob/Gyn, University of Berne. Berne. Switzerland.
In some women with acne or alopecia who have normal serum levels of free
testosterone, no clinical improvement can be reached by the classical treatment
with antiandrogens, isotretinoids or corticosteroids. Our hypothesis is that
some of these women have an excessive activity of the enzyme 5alpha-reductase.
We evaluated the subjective benefit of the treatment with finasteride (5 mg/day)
in women with normal serum levels of free testosterone suffering from acne or
alopecia. This was a retrospective study evaluating a questionnaire filled out
by 12 patients, six of whom had acne and six of whom had alopecia. Nine of the
12 patients benefited from the finasteride treatment, their symptoms decreased
significantly and they felt better psychologically than before the
administration of finasteride. The other three patients did not benefit at all
from finasteride and reported no change in the extent of the acne or alopecia.
Treatment was generally well tolerated, only a few adverse effects were noted.
Conclusions. Nine of the 12 patients benefited from the finasteride treatment.
This supports our hypothesis of an excessive activity of 5alpha-reductase enzyme
in peripheral tissue in these patients. The fact that three of the patients did
not realize any change in their symptom severity implies that there must also be
other pathways in the genesis of acne and alopecia in women with normal levels
of free testosterone.

Finasteride QuestionsQ. I am currently taking finasteride Proscar, do I need to reduce my dose
if I am taking
Prostate Power Rx?
   A. Perhaps you will need less of a dose but your doctor
is the person who makes the final decision since he or she prescribed the finasteride and knows your condition best.

Q. I am the one very unlucky person who has used
Finasterin - finasteride - and I now suffer from serious erection problems. I am
in Finland. Can you tell ANY methods of healing from this very serious and fatal
state that started with finasteride. I’m afraid I can’t take this for very long
anymore. I have suffered this now for about 1.5 years. I’ve tried several
vitamin, testosteroine etc but they have not lifted me from this state, just
slight changes have occurred but my problem is still present. I suffer from
serious depression and this can’t continue like this for rest of my life. I will
not allow it to be that way, no matter of what it takes. This really is not life
worth living right now.
   A. You may consider taking a look at the
impotence page.

Q. Do you think finasteride decreases sensation of the
nerves in the body? Ever since I started taking finasteride for hair growth, I
think that skin, nipples, genital organ, just don’t seem to be as sensitive.
Finasteride is helping regrow hair, so I am happy about that, but I just don’t
feel as alive. I’m not sure but I think my vision is not as clear.
   A. This is an interesting observation and perhaps finasteride does
have something to do with neural sensation being decreased but since we have not
seen research on this topic and we have not had other people mention this yet,
perhaps it is a subtle finasteride side effects, we can’t say for sure.

Q. Hi I found your name on the web. My husband started
taking finasteride Propecia in March of 2006. I started to notice a change in
him right away looking back now in hindsight., He was tired fell asleep more
often when putting kids to bed. Took in prompt to naps during the day. Had no
real gusto for life that he used to have. In May of 2006 we were on a cruise had
a simple argument and he jumped overboard. He could not swim. He had nothing in
his life that was going wrong. He was very successful and loved to travel and
live life to the fullest. I am trying to prepare a case to get a warning put on
this product. It is not mention in any of the medical literature about the
possible finasteride side effect of depression. If this had been noted we may
have had an early idea that this medicine was not a good fit for my husband. Any
help you could provide me would be greatly appreciated. Do you know of any
clinical studies going on in the US regarding this link between depression and
finasteride?

Finasteride induced depression: a prospective study.BMC Clin Pharmacol. 2006 Oct 7;6:7. Rahimi-Ardabili B, Pourandarjani R,
Habibollahi P, Mualeki A. Clinical Pharmacy Laboratory, Drug Applied Research
Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Finasteride is a competitive inhibitor of 5 alpha-reductase enzyme, and is used
for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and androgenetic alopecia. Animal
studies have shown that finasteride might induce behavioral changes.
Additionally, some cases of finasteride -induced depression have been reported
in humans. The purpose of this study was to examine whether depressive symptoms
or anxiety might be induced by finasteride administration. One hundred and
twenty eight men with androgenetic alopecia, who were prescribed finasteride (1
mg/day) were enrolled in this study. Information on depressed mood and anxiety
was obtained by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale (HADS). Mean age of the subjects was 26 years. Finasteride
treatment increased both BDI and HADS depression scores significantly. HADS
anxiety scores were increased, but the difference was not significant. This
preliminary study suggests that finasteride might induce depressive symptoms;
therefore this medication should be prescribed cautiously for patients with high
risk of depression. It seems that further studies would be necessary to
determine behavioral effects of this medication in higher doses and in more
susceptible patients.

Finasteride questions
Q. I have noticed decreased
libido since starting on finasteride. Is this possible?
   A. Yes, some users have noticed low libido after beginning
finasteride treatment.

Q. I am taking the drug finasteride for hair loss. I have side effects from
finasteride. Can taking mucuna pruriens improve libido which it the side effect
I have. Finasteride is causing low libido.
   A. Finasteride use does lead to side effects including low libido.
Mucuna pruriens does improve libido. Another option is Passion Rx which many
people report improves libido in those who have taken or taking finasteride.

Q. I have read in some journal at one time that
finasteride Proscar acts like a SSRI and can lead to increased serotonin
especially in the GI tract. I have taken finasteride Proscar for about twenty
years and have IBS and am wondering if there is a correlation.
   A. Finasteride blocks testosterone conversion to DHT. I can’t
imagine any close relation of this effect with blocking the uptake of serotonin.
Finasteride use could lead to low mood, low vitality, and possible depression in
some users. I have not seen any direct connection between finasteride and
irritable bowel syndrome.

Q. Firstly, I very much enjoyed reading the finasteride
drug information
on
your web page.
I would very much appreciate an answer to the
following question as I had been considering beginning
taking a 50mg supplement of DHEA either every day or
every other day.
I have been taking 1mg finasteride medication for the past 4
years for male pattern baldness and have had pretty
good results both in maintaining and regrowing new
hair. However, I have noticed over the past 12 months
that despite no real change in my diet or exercise
plan that I have begun to slowly put weight on around
the middle waist and have almost totally
lost interest in sex. My erections are far less
frequent and less long-lasting. I also get tired very
easily.
I have recently started taking finasteride only every
other day to see if that makes a difference, but so
far no visible sign!
According to the “hype” DHEA would seem to be the
perfect answer. More energy, increase in lean muscle, decrease in fat and
increased libido.
Having read you articles on DHEA, I am now worrying about DHEA side
effects…not least the potential for my hair to fall
out!!
Do you think that keeping it to a low’ish dose every
other day maybe when I take finasteride medication and then
stopping after 3months…waiting a month and then doing another 3 month cycle
should be ok?
   A. DHEA use can cause hair loss which counteracts the benefit of
hair growth from finasteride. There are natural herbs that improve sexuality and
libido, along with erectile function, and these are safer than DHEA hormone use
and are not likely to influence hair loss.