Introduction: Post-Finasteride Syndrome (PFS) refers to sexual, neurological and physical adverse reactions that persist for at least three months in men who have taken the 5-alpha reductase type II inhibitor. No studies exist that examine this syndrome in finasteride eexposed women. Materials and Methods: Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a list of all finasteride related adverse events from April 2011 to October 2014 were obtained from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Female cases were identified and reported outcomes were examined.
Results: Out of 3034 total reports, 105 women (3.5%) were identified weith adverse events after taking finasteride. Mean age at time of reporting was 38.9 (18-84) years old. Thirty five women (33.3%) were taking Propecia (finasteride 1 mg), 20 were taking Proscar (19.0%), and 50 (47.6%) took finasteride of an unknown dose . Adverse effects are outlined in Table 1. Notably, they include an 8.6% renal failure rate, a 6.7% incidence of new breast cancer, and a 5.7% incidence of temporal lobe epilepsy.
Conclusions: Female PFS represents a small but real subset of finasteride-related long term adverse outcomes. Further investigation of etiology and potential treatment is crucial for this devastating syndrome.
A short report on an analysis of FAERS data. The text includes a table with further common PFS symptoms including, insomnia, suicidal ideation and dry eyes. Posting upon request.