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Hair Loss News Archives
November 2010
Baldness drug works but some have sexual problems
They found that men taking finasteride notice a 30% improvement after two years
Nov 2010
The widely used baldness drug finasteride (Propecia)
indeed boosts hair growth in men, but some may develop sexual
problems, according to a new analysis.
A review of recent research found that men with the most common form
of baldness who took finasteride are more likely to experience an
increase in hair count, and say they believe their hair is thicker.
But approximately 1 in 80 also experience erectile dysfunction, according to the analysis published in the Archives of Dermatology.
However, men with sexual side effects were not more likely to stop
taking the drug. "It seems that most men taking this drug really
prefer to have hair," study author Dr. José Manuel Mella of the
Hospital Alemán in Buenos Aires told Reuters Health.
Up to half of men will experience pattern hair loss - known
clinically as androgenetic alopecia - by the age of 50. Finasteride
works by blocking an enzyme that converts testosterone into
dihydrotestosterone, the hormone responsible for hair loss.
Several studies have investigated the effectiveness of finasteride,
which costs about $50 per month for a brand-name pill but less for a
generic version. However, questions have remained over its potential
side effects.
To help answer these questions, Mella and his team scanned the
medical literature and analyzed the findings of 12 studies that
included 3927 men.
They found that men taking finasteride notice a 30% improvement after two years. "Finasteride
has a tendency to maintain and improve hair count over time while
being on treatment," Mella said in an email. "The longer you treat,
the bigger the effect."
However, finasteride did appear to increase the risk of sexual side
effects, affecting 1 in 80 men taking the drug. "Patients must
discuss their preferences with their doctors," the researcher
advised.
Mella and his team rated most of the data included in the current
study as "moderate quality," meaning the results may have been
affected by factors such as bias (if funded by the sellers of
finasteride, perhaps). However, any impact would be relatively
minor, and the data are reliable overall, noted Mella, who did not
receive any funding from the makers of finasteride to produce his
paper. "Our results are probably accurate."
Dr. Matt Leavitt, who co-authored one of the studies included in the
new analysis, said he wasn't surprised by the findings, and
prescribes finasteride "pretty much daily" to his patients.
Indeed, "there is an occasional patient that does describe a sexual
side effect," noted Leavitt, medical director of the Advanced
Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery Clinic based in Florida and president
of the Hair Foundation. But most are willing to try the drug knowing
they can just stop taking it if any problems arise. "We know that it
works on most patients."
Source