Excellent News…
SOMERSET, N.J., June 19, 2015 – The U.S. National Institutes of Health has added post-finasteride syndrome (PFS) to its Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, noting that:
“Studies are underway to understand the safety profile of 5-alpha reductase inhibitor drugs with respect to adverse events…and their permanency.”
This federal recognition of PFS comes in tandem with a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which found that, of the 34 clinical trials conducted on finasteride, none adequately reported on sexual side effects.
“People who take or prescribe the drug assume it’s safe, but there is insufficient information to make that judgment," said the study’s lead author, Steven Belknap, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“About one percent of young, healthy men experience persistent sexual dysfunction after taking finasteride for male pattern hair loss,” he added.
Separately, a new study published in the June edition of Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation shows that finasteride increases the severity of erectile dysfunction and decreases testosterone levels in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.
“Our findings suggest that finasteride therapy is associated with undesirable and, in some cases, detrimental sexual side effects and reduced quality of life,” said the study’s lead investigator, Abdulmaged M. Traish, professor of urology at Boston University School of Medicine.
PFS occurs in men who’ve taken finasteride to treat hair loss (under the brand name Propecia and generics), or enlarged prostates (Proscar and generics). Reported symptoms include: loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, panic attacks, Peyronie’s disease, penile shrinkage, gynecomastia, muscle atrophy, cognitive impairment, insomnia, severely dry skin and tinnitus.
The condition often has a life-altering impact on victims and their families, such as job loss and the breakup of marriages and romantic relationships, while also being linked to suicides.
The PFS Foundation is advising health care professionals to be on the lookout for these symptoms in adverse drug reaction reports, suicide post-mortems, suicide-prevention services, and other patient records.
Members of the health care media are also asked to make the general population aware of PFS. This can be done by publishing a link to the PFS Foundation website (PFSFoundation.org), as the U.S. National Institutes of Health has done.
Please note that there are currently no effective treatments for PFS. However, the PFS Foundation has to date funded three research initiatives seeking to identify the root causes of the condition:
Clinical Study of Post-Finasteride Syndrome Launched at University of Milano-Bicocca and University of Milano
Clinical Study of Post-Finasteride Syndrome Launched at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (a Harvard Medical School Teaching Affiliate)
Clinical Study of Post-Finasteride Syndrome Launched at Baylor College of Medicine
Other useful information on PFSFoundation.org that can be published and/or shared:
Number of Nations Accessing Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation Website Rose 22% in 2014
Post-Finasteride Syndrome: Overview: Includes a full list of sexual, physical, mental and neurological symptoms.
PFS Patient Query: Suicide Cases: Seeks patients who have taken finasteride and attempted suicide or completed suicide, as part of active research examining medical records and other relevant material for such patients.
About the PFS Foundation
Headquartered in Somerset N.J., the Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation was established in July 2012 as a 501©(3) organization, with private grants from families in the U.S. and abroad. Tax-deductible financial donations to the nonprofit organization can be made via PFSFoundation.org, which also houses patient-recruitment information on active clinical studies, published research, research goals, and media reports about PFS.
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Contact
Philip Roberts
The Post-Finasteride Syndrome Foundation
proberts@pfsfoundation.org
(856) 425-6046