Androgenic baldness in varying degrees affects on average about half of 50-year-old men. Lhair transplant it is the only permanent cure, but the ways in which this pathology is faced are varied, also due to how the problem is experienced by individuals. There are those who are content to delude themselves with a few supplements or shampoos, but there are also those who want to go further and look for a pharmacological solution, mistakenly thinking that it is less demanding than a surgical one. In fact, the drug can only have a modest efficacy and must be taken for life; stopping the therapy will make you lose hair as much and more than before and this happens because the pharmacological approach does not remove the causes of androgenic baldness.
However, there is a more serious problem, which is that of the side effects that are generated with years of administration of these substances.
One molecule in particular is raising many concerns, finasteride, well known in this sector for many years.
Simplifying, since androgenetic baldness is triggered by an adverse reaction between the hair bulbs located on the vertex and fronto-temporal area of the head and some male hormones, such as DHT, the basic idea of finasteride is to reduce the concentration of DHT in the blood, going to decrease the impact of this "interference".
However, finasteride has also become known for what has been defined as the "post-finasteride syndrome", which includes erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, impotence, gynaecomastia and changes in spermatogenesis, testicular pain, possible reduction in fertility for long-term therapies, states of depression or anxiety, as well as many other side effects that we will not mention here. In short, the price of a few extra hairs can be very high for a man.
The most controversial issue, however, is another one. Even in 2011 the FDA (the American drug agency), which had collected 36 cases of death from the use of the molecule in its database, added "depression" to the list of side effects. With yet another series of reports piling up, regulators in some countries have moved to more clearly state the drug's problems.
A website (finasterideinfo.org) has also been created which collects publications with data and scientific studies on the negative consequences of finasteride, in an attempt to counter the online misinformation that promotes this molecule as a totally "harmless" cure for baldness.
The recommendation is therefore to take into account the risks of these drugs, and ask yourself if they really are a valid option in the treatment of baldness, given the results they bring.
Sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31935720/
https://finasterideinfo.org/fda-suicidal-ideation-behavior-propecia-label/
