Hi @Al9000,
I’m axolotl, one of the administrators of this forum. Firstly, I am sorry to hear what your brother and you are going through. There is a near zero percent chance you could have predicted this outcome and it isn’t your fault. Blame will not help anybody in this situation and your support will be incredibly valuable to him.
This symptom profile is unfortunately nothing new to us. The situation you describe is something we have known to be theoretically possible in line with our opinion as to the bigger picture of PFS. The administrators of this site believe the commonality between the substances is what causes the development of the variable constellation of persistent health problems currently termed “PFS” in predisposed individuals. Namely, a reduction of androgen action, be it through sharp reduction of active androgen, inhibition of the AR or even proteasomic clearance. Aspirin is known to cause reduction of AR mRNA, which came to my attention after pfs patient responses to NSAID drugs.
However, this is the first case I can recall reported. May I ask why your brother isn’t the one posting here, or how you came across this site? Additionally, are you aware as to whether your brother was taking or had ever taken anything for the treatment of hair loss, acne or depression? (e.g. finasteride, minoxidil, accutane, an SSRI)?
Additionally, we are very soon (hopefully within a week or two) launching a comprehensive symptom survey to all registered members with an account in good standing. You will receive an invitation to take this automatically and it would be very helpful if your brother could fill it out.