Connect with other PFS patients
Consult knowledgeable doctors
Report your side effects
Read the latest research
Germany Joins French Defiance of Finasteride
May 30, 2019 Dear Friends: If PFS awareness is what it takes to unite Germany and France, so be it. Last week brought a slew of media coverage out of Deutschland that closely mirrors what we saw a month earlier in the French Republic. The awareness assault began May 21 with a report on the […]
PFS Awareness Unfurling at a Furious Pace in France
April 29, 2019 Dear Friends: The French are not fond of finasteride. March brought a barrage of media coverage in the nation’s escalating efforts to warn citizens against the medication’s potential dangers. On the broadcast front, three network news programs highlighted the suffering of PFS patients. In a segment on the France 5 program Allo […]
New Spanish-Language Website Ups Our Potential Readership by 500+ Million
April 11, 2019 Dear Friends: Today marks yet another milestone in PFS awareness: Spanish speakers across the globe can now read all about the condition—aka “síndrome post-finasterida” (SPF)—in their native tongue. To access our Spanish-language content, simply click the Spanish flag aside the search box at the top of any pfsfoundation.org page. To toggle back […]
Regulatory Update: Canada Concludes ‘There May Be a Link Between Finasteride and Risk of Suicidal Ideation’
February 28, 2019 Dear Friends: Could Canada be thawing to the notion of a finasteride-free nation? Earlier this week, our neighbor to the north announced that Propecia and Proscar patients may be at risk for considering and attempting suicide, and mandated that the manufacturer update its product insert to reflect this potential danger. The move […]
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 […]
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