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PFS is Front-page News in the Netherlands
February 25, 2019 Dear Friends: PFS awareness is fanning out across Europe faster than a leaky dyke. The latest nation to take up our charge is the Netherlands, via its second-largest newspaper, De Volkskrant, which boasts a daily circulation of more than 250,000. In a 2,600-word story that ran last week, reporter Irene de Zwaan […]
French Urologist to Top TV News Mag: Propecia is a potentially dangerous drug—’I even told my brother-in-law to stop taking it’
February 10, 2019 Dear Friends: Vive la France! This time we call your attention to a PFS report last week on 66 Minutes, which models itself after the iconic American news magazine 60 Minutes and boasts a Sunday-evening audience of two million viewers. The 14-minute segment, titled Is This Hair-loss Drug Dangerous? (English-subtitled version here), […]
Regulatory Update: France’s FDA-Equivalent Agency Reissues Finasteride Warning
February 2, 2019 Dear Friends: Prompted by an increasing number of adverse drug-reaction reports to finasteride, France’s FDA-equivalent agency yesterday issued a letter to 100,000 health professionals reminding them that patients treated with the drug are at risk for developing psychiatric disorders and persistent sexual disorders. The Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des […]
Noted Swiss Science Writer Sides with Nation’s 2,000 PFS Sufferers
February 1, 2019 Dear Friends: Looks like Switzerland’s not so neutral after all. At least when it comes to finasteride. In a SonntagsZeitung story headlined Finasteride was once considered a miracle cure for hair loss. But soon libido disorders and other serious side effects were discovered. Now it’s going to court (English translation here ), […]
France’s Le Monde to 300,000 Readers: Finasteride Users Beware
January 25, 2019 Dear Friends: France is at it again. Doing the right thing, that is. Earlier this week, Le Monde—the nation’s second-largest newspaper, with a daily circulation of more than 300,000 copies—ran a story headlined When Fighting Hair Loss, Watch out for Finasteride. (English translation here.) The 1,170-word report, by Pascale Santi, begins: “Romain […]
Doctors & Researchers Speaking Out
Men under the age of 40 who use finasteride for alopecia are at risk for suicide if they develop persistent sexual adverse effects and insomnia.
An important pattern of symptoms was common among all cases who committed suicide in the setting of finasteride use: insomnia and persistent sexual dysfunction after medication discontinuation. Insomnia and fatigue/tiredness were some of the most debilitating symptoms… Men under 40 years of age who use finasteride for alopecia are at risk of suicide if they develop persistent sexual adverse effects and insomnia.
—Finasteride and Suicide: A Postmarketing Case Series: Dermatology, January 14, 2020
Two subjects—eight percent—committed suicide during or after the study.
While the sexual side effects of 5ARIs are well known, there may be persistent genitourinary, physical, psycho-cognitive, anti-androgenic and penile vascular changes after 5ARI discontinuation. Use of 5ARIs for treatment of AGA may lead to persistent sexual, genitourinary, physical, psycho-cognitive, and anti-androgenic sequelae even after cessation of 5ARI therapy… Two subjects (8%) committed suicide during or after the study.
—Penile vascular abnormalities in young men with persistent side effects after finasteride use for the treatment of androgenic alopecia: Translational Andrology and Urology, April 2020
Health care professionals should…conduct a full evaluation and a…risk-benefit assessment for patients before each prescription of finasteride.
As prescribers, our primary duty is to do no harm. Health care professionals should keep themselves abreast of these potential signals and, accordingly, conduct a full evaluation and a detailed, personalized risk-benefit assessment for patients before each prescription of finasteride.
—Ongoing Concerns Regarding Finasteride for the Treatment of Male-Pattern Androgenetic Alopecia: JAMA Dermatology, November 2020
This drug for young men must be taken off the market.
As of 2018, 15,000 cases of adverse reactions to finasteride were reported to the WHO—which is a huge number to begin with. And the interesting thing is that the average age of this group was 32 to 34 years old… This drug for young men must be taken off the market.
—Documentary on German network NDR titled Side Effects of Finasteride Are Underestimated: January 25, 2021