It seems to be the first time that a regulatory agency has declared they found a causal link between finasteride and suicidality which is a huge deal.
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PRAC, has confirmed suicidal ideation (suicidal thoughts) as a side effect of finasteride 1 and 5 mg tablets.
The PRAC agreed that suicidal ideation should be included as a side effect of finasteride tablets but concluded that the benefits of finasteride and dutasteride medicines continue to outweigh their risks for all approved uses.
It is difficult for me to imagine how and why they fail to recognize occurrence of “post” finasteride syndrome, while they, being based on data which includes reports of patients, recognize suicidal ideation as a side effect. It is strange all the more because the number of patients who get pfs is perhaps more than the number of patients who complain of suicidal ideation.
If clinicians hear and recognize patient’s complain of suicidal ideation but not of pfs, it’s probably because they can still say “the benefits outweigh their risks” of the former but never of the latter. So, clinicians ー half unconsciously ー refuse to recognize pfs and do not report it to the authorities.
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