Scientific literature and other sources are increasingly finding statins to be causing erectile dysfunction.
PFS patients who have been around for a while may remember that literature about the Post-Finasteride Syndrome initially only talked about erectile dysfunction. All other symptoms were carefully ignored, probably because they just didn’t make sense, and where hard to explain from a scientific point of view. As the years went by, the list of persistent symptoms that were accepted to be part of PFS grew longer and longer, but still hasn’t reached the full scope we know to be true. Just like was the case with PFS, publications about statins are now starting to talk about depression as well.
Just recently, a member of this forum informed me that he knew someone who got PFS very similar to his own condition from statins. His message prompted me to look into statins a little, and I found this article:
Western blotting revealed that both mevastatin and simvastatin downregulated AR and PSA protein.
By downregulating the Androgen Receptor, statins have anti-androgenic effects. It is at least plausible, that through this property, statins are causing a condition similar to the Post-Finasteride Syndrome, namely sexual dysfunction, depression and possibly other similar persistent neurological and physical side effects.
I would be extremely interested to hear from any statin cases which present a persistent condition anywhere similar to this. If you were taking statins, quit, and are now suffering of what we inadequatly call “PFS”, please let us know about this. After finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto extract, isotretinoin, gnrh-analogs, antidepressants - the picture might just have become bigger again… (all of these substances have anti-androgenic properties)
for the sake of all of us