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: depression
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 […]
Treatment of male rats with finasteride, an inhibitor of 5alpha-reductase enzyme, induces long-lasting effects on depressive-like behavior, hippocampal neurogenesis, neuroinflammation and gut microbiota composition.
Our findings indicate that finasteride treatment causes several alterations in the hippocampus that are detected at the end of the treatment… coincide with the apparition of depressive-like behavior, suggesting that long term effects of finasteride treatment on neurogenesis and neuroinflammation may participate in the enduring effects of the drug on depressive-like behavior, which are detected […]
France’s FDA Equivalent Issues Information Point and Fact Sheet on Finasteride Adverse Effects
December 19, 2019 Dear Friends: France’s FDA-equivalent agency last week issued an Information Point and fact sheet for men currently taking finasteride for hair loss, or for those considering taking the drug for hair loss. “Developed in conjunction with concerned patient associations and health professionals, this fact sheet aims to reinforce patient information on the […]
Young Men Using Finasteride for Alopecia May Be More Suicide-Prone than the General Population, Says New Pharmacovigilance Research
Nov. 12, 2020 Dear Friends: Men 45 years old and younger who use finasteride for hair loss are three times more likely to experience suicidal ideation, plan their suicide or attempt suicide, according to a new pharmacovigilance investigation. Risk of such suicidality was 63 percent higher than among men using other alopecia medications, including minoxidil […]
Gut Microbiota Population is Altered in PFS Patients, New Research Demonstrates
Sept. 28, 2020 Dear Friends: Phase IV of the PFS Foundation-sponsored research at the University of Milano (UniMi), designed to investigate the presence of altered gut microbiota in PFS patients, has successfully demonstrated the presence of altered gut microbiota in PFS patients. Titled Alterations of gut microbiota composition in post-finasteride patients: a pilot study, the […]
Penile Vascular Abnormalities Found in Majority of PFS Patients in Baylor College of Medicine Study
April 28, 2020 Dear Friends: In a newly published prospective case-control study in Translational Andrology and Urology, Mohit Khera, Director of the Laboratory for Andrology Research at Baylor College of Medicine, and his research team report the presence of vascular abnormalities in the penis of PFS patients (median age of 38) who previously discontinued the […]