Prior literature has suggested that finasteride may negatively impact men’s sexual health. In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided a warning on finasteride drug labels to incorporate sexual side effects such as reduced libido and erectile dysfunction. We aimed to evaluate global online interest in finasteride sexual side effects, their penetrance and variation, […]
Tag Archives: completed suicide
Diagnostic criteria for enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin
A set of enduring conditions have been reported in the literature involving persistent sexual dysfunction after discontinuation of serotonin reuptake inhibiting antidepressants, 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors and isotretinoin. OBJECTIVE: To develop diagnostic criteria for post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) following serotonin reuptake inhibitors, post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) and post-retinoid sexual dysfunction (PRSD). METHODS: […]
How routine pharmacovigilance failed to identify finasteride’s persistent sexual side effects
When confronted with data that their product could cause persistent erectile dysfunction, the Risk Management Safety Team at Merck, in 2009, had the opportunity to take further action to sort out the issue. Realizing that many adverse event reports lacked adequate information, the team could have recommended conducting additional rigorous prospective studies on finasteride to […]
Differential Gene Expression in Post-Finasteride Syndrome Patients
This study is the first to consider gene expression differences in men with PFS in explaining the etiology of this condition. Given gene expression per se is not mechanistic and does not imply causality, experiments with downstream processes of protein expression and activity should be undertaken to provide mechanistic data and clarify the results of […]
Risk of Depression Associated With Finasteride Treatment
Crude pooled rates of depressive symptoms with versus without finasteride were 3.33% versus 2.54%; random-effects meta-analysis yielded an odds ratio of 2.14. In addition, risk of suicidal ideation or behavior was greater with versus without finasteride (21.2% vs 14.0%), and risk of sustained sexual dysfunction was high (60.1%). The findings support a growing impression that […]
Gene-Expression Study in the Penile Skin Tissue of PFS Patients Finds Significant Differences in the Expression of 3,764 Genes
July 14, 2021 Dear Friends: The first study to consider and demonstrate gene expression differences as a potential etiology of the sexual dysfunction experienced by PFS patients has been published by a research team at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). In all, the PFS patients had 1,446 significantly over-expressed (upregulated) and 2,318 significantly under-expressed (downregulated) […]
Unsealed Documents from Propecia Litigation Now Housed on PFS Foundation Website
June 29, 2021 Dear Friends: The PFS Foundation has launched a new section of its website to house documents from the US Propecia litigation unsealed by court order earlier this year. Part A of our Propecia Litigation Library (Paper Trail), contains 479 pages of such documents, along with 125 pages of related content, including Merck’s […]
In Addition to Blocking 5α-R, Finasteride Inhibits Adrenaline Production, Possibly Inducing Sexual and Psychological Side Effects, New Research Suggests
Finasteride patients face a 51% greater risk of suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior than the general population, separate study demonstrates April 13, 2021 Dear Friends: Phase V of the PFS Foundation-sponsored research at the University of Milano (UniMi) has found that finasteride, a 5-alpha reductase (5α-R) inhibitor, also inhibits phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT), an enzyme found […]
PFS Foundation Files Supplements to FDA Citizen Petition Seeking Finasteride’s Removal from the Market
US District Court, meanwhile, orders all sealed documents in Propecia litigation to be unsealed February 1, 2021 Dear Friends: The PFS Foundation has filed supplements to its FDA Citizen Petition requesting that the agency “immediately require withdrawal of marketing approval for Propecia…because the risk of serious injury from the drug outweighs its limited benefits.” The […]
New Hindi-Language Site Adds 615 Million Potential Readers to the PFS Awareness Movement
January 20, 2021 Dear Friends: The nation that gave us such wise figures as Mahatma Gandhi, Srinivasa Ramanujan and Anandibai Joshi just got a bit wiser. With respect to PFS, that is. Now, speakers of the world’s third most popular language can read all about post-finasteride syndrome (aka “पोस्ट-फ़ाइस्टरसाइड सिंड्रोम”) in their native tongue. To […]