Jan 2 at 3:00 PM
WINTER FUNDRAISING DRIVE
Please Give Generously
Jan. 2, 2018
Dear Friends:
If 2018 proves to be anything like 2017 in terms of regulatory activity, this promises to be a landmark year for PFS awareness and prevention.
In May, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency issued a drug-safety update titled Finasteride: rare reports of depression and suicidal thoughts. “Depression and suicidal thoughts," it read, “have been reported in men with and without a previous history of depression.”
Two months later, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which received 1,351 adverse-drug-reaction reports for finasteride between 2013 and 2016, followed suit. The agency mandated that the label on Propecia and its generic versions warn against depression and suicidal ideation.
Next came the European Medicines Agency, which oversees pharmaceutical product safety throughout the European Union. In an August Periodic Safety Update, the EMA wrote that “Cumulatively 51 cases of suicidal ideation have been received… Taking into account the serious reported cases…[we] recommended to include a warning…to inform that mood alterations, depression and suicidal ideation have been reported with finasteride.”
Then, in October, the French National Agency for Drug Safety issued a warning that “Changes in mood, particularly depression, and suicidal ideation, have been reported by patients taking Propecia.”
Along the way, three additional European nations warned as well:
In May, the Danish Medicines Agency published an item in its Pharmacovigilance Update, headlined “Finasteride (1 mg) for treatment of hair loss may cause psychiatric adverse reactions.”
In June, the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Products published a brief in its Drug Safety Bulletin noting that “patients treated with finasteride reported mood changes including depressive mood, depression and, more rarely, suicidal thoughts.”
In November, the Belgian Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products published an item headlined Finasteride Poses Depression Risks, which asserted that “a causal relationship” between 1mg a day of finasteride and depression is “considered possible.”
While we’re pleased to note a direct correlation between our ongoing awareness efforts and such regulatory action – and are almost certain that more nations will join the charge in 2018 – we must also face the realities of increasing expenses in areas like periodical subscriptions, language translation, web hosting, and media production and distribution.
So with the New Year upon us, we’re aiming to raise $10,000 by January 31 to see us through the first fiscal quarter. To help us reach that goal, please access our Donate page now.
Meanwhile, here are a few other projects to watch for in Q1:
Research Continuance: Four years ago, we sponsored a study at the University of Milano, led by Roberto Cosimo Melcangi, PhD, and titled Rare, but Serious and Persistent, Side Effects of 5α Reductase Inhibitors (5ARI): Why Do They Occur, in Which Patients, and What Can We Do to Treat or Prevent Them? The results, which showed that PFS patients suffer from altered levels of critical brain-function regulators, were published in April in The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Now, we’ve completed funding on another phase of the team’s research, details of which are forthcoming.
Literary Awareness: A urology professor at a major US university has written a book on the dangers of altering testosterone, which includes a chapter on PFS, complete with patient interviews. With publication set for February, this timely project promises not only to generate new media awareness of PFS, but spur new interest among researchers in studying the condition.
Enhanced Digital Presence: After several delays (for which we apologize), our new, more robust website is finally on the horizon. Stay tuned.
As always, if you or a loved one are suffering from PFS, and feeling depressed or unstable, don’t hesitate to contact us as soon as possible via our Patient Support hotline: social@pfsfoundation.org
Thank you for giving generously.
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Post Finasteride Syndrome Foundation | 27 World’s Fair Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873