Researchers re-assess side effects of hair loss treatment

Men who take Propecia for hair loss experience minimal effects on sexual function, Italian researchers report.

The active ingredient in Propecia, finasteride, is a male hormone blocker.

At higher doses it is used to treat enlargement of the prostate and at low doses it has been shown to stop hair loss which has been connected to a by-product of testosterone for some men.

In clinical trials, up to 4.4 per cent of men treated with the drug reported sexual side effects.

Consequently, men are warned that they might experience erection difficulties when they take Propecia.

However, in the current study no sexual side effects were observed.

The findings, which appear in the Archives of Dermatology for July, are based on a study of 186 men with hair loss who completed a sexual function questionnaire before and 4 to 6 months after starting on finasteride at a dose of 1 milligram per day, the usual dose for this condition.

The subjects ranged in age from 19 to 43 years of age.

Treatment with finasteride was not associated with significant changes in erectile function, orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction, and overall sexual satisfaction, lead author Dr Antonella Tosti, from the University of Bologna, and colleagues report.

"Our results support the clinical impression that sexual side-effects are actually much less common than reported in clinical trials," the authors state.