New Study: Incidence of PFS is 'Statistically Significant'

General Discussion Media & Awareness
#1

New study concludes that PFS is a very real risk for anyone taking finasteride:

“There is a high statistically significant risk of all measured outcomes – impotence, phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, and diminished libido in men younger than 42 who were prescribed finasteride at a dose of less than or equal to 1.25 mg/day for androgenic alopecia compared to men who had no exposure to a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor,” Tina Kiguradze, of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, and colleagues concluded in a poster presentation.

The story here:

medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAD/50666

#2

That article doesn’t mention PFS anywhere. All it states is that there is a possibility of permanent impotence, which, isn’t even really close to describing this condition. From my experience, PFS is more of an inability to feel any sort of pleasure or motivation at all in general. None of my hobbies interest me anymore, school doesn’t interest me at all and my grades have plummeted. Socializing is more of a chore than a leisure. Not to mention the random panic attacks in the middle of the night, constant anxiety, and suicidal ideation, which have all spontaneously appeared after I discontinued Finasteride.

#3

Agreed that the bigger picture – bigger than permanent ED, that is – is much worse and needs to be discussed in greater detail.

Still, it’s good news that an organization as prestigious as the American Academy of Dermatology is behind this.

What puzzles me is why a UROLOGIST is quoted in the MedPage story:

“Urologist Steven Kaplan, MD, said the study did not identify any new issues and should not have an impact on current clinical practice.”

What the hell does that mean – “should not have an impact on current clinical practice”? So all doctors should continue to prescribe finasteride knowing that they could be irreparably harming their patients?

Did “Steven Kaplan, MD” not take the Hippocratic oath?

#4

Basically it is a shit article because the author of that study is stating that finasteride should be legal and prescribed as long as patients are informed that there is a small risk of impotence. That study isn’t acknowledging any of the other side effects of pfs.

#5

I think he is probably aware of the existence of persistent sexual dysfunction but doesn’t realize that a lot of sleazy hair transplant surgeons and dermatologists aren’t issuing informed consent and are in complete denial of the possible side effects. My guess is the article used his quote in a misleading context.

#6

Of course they are minimizing the potential side effects. However still a confirmation of persistent sexual side effects is good for awareness and will spur further investigation and dissemination of information. The cognitive side effects leading to the syndrome itself are still being under recognized. However another additional study from an academic institution is always welcomed.

#7

Well put. I could not have said it better.

#8

And today The Wall Street Journal has picked up the Northwestern study:

“Sexual adverse events occurred significantly more often in younger men who used finasteride, which Merck sells as Propecia, to treat hair loss as compared with nonusers, according to data from a large patient record system,” writes the paper’s Pharmalot columnist, Ed Silverman.

The full story here:

blogs.wsj.com/pharmalot/2015/03/ … much-more/

Please comment asap on Ed’s story. Let the world know that ED is just the tip of the PFS iceberg.

#9

Add NewsMax to the mix on this story:

newsmax.com/Health/Anti-Agin … id/634740/

#10

Study presentation here:

Further proof of how rare this problem is.

informational.JPG889×626 158 KB

#11

They see him trollin… he hatin…

#12

Be sure to do a Google News search on Wednesday, April 1 for “finasteride.”

#13

Take this last comment back. That scum bag has taken tens of thousands of dollars (at least) from Merck and was paid to do research for them. He probably has known about the possibility of irreversible side effects this whole time and is trying to download the significance of this.