top | item 13899860

Persistent erectile dysfunction in men exposed to finasteride, or dutasteride

30 points| noshbrinken | 9 years ago |peerj.com

23 comments

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[+] laichzeit0|9 years ago|reply
This study is fucked, to put it bluntly. They're lumping together Fin and Dut and people taking 5mg Fin. Most people taking Fin for MPB take 1mg Fin, for example.

You can actually not draw any conclusions from this paper other than, don't use Dutesteride unless you're male to female transitioning and don't go above 1.25mg finasteride if you want to keep your hair and your dick.

But it just confounds everything together, it's a terrible study.

[+] throwaway6111|9 years ago|reply
0.8% of a 4000+ sample size had PED with the regular dosage for baldness treatment. That's absurdly low and pretty much confirms that though the risk is there, it's highly unlikely. Its even more ridiculous that 1.4% of the ENTIRE sample size (over 11,000 people) taking less than or equal to 1.25mg of fin, greater than 1.25mg of fin, and dutasteride reported persistent ED.

As a fin user I actually find this data to be re-assuring.

[+] KVFinn|9 years ago|reply
A little strange to see this at the very top of the site, doesn't look like anything particularly interesting?
[+] rosser|9 years ago|reply
My theory: it's a back-handed jab at President Trump, as he's reported to be a user of Propecia for hair loss. Overtly political stories are usually flagged off the front page quickly, but this is "just" a journal article.

(Note: I'm not a Trump supporter — quite the opposite. I just don't like round-about mocking: "Oh, he can't get it up. That must be why he's such a jerk!")

[+] throwaway6111|9 years ago|reply
I'm a fin user and frankly I'm surprised to see this here. It's already well known that persistent ED is a potential side. I'm guessing its here because its a new study and other HN readers are curious about the drug (or taking it).
[+] throwaway6111|9 years ago|reply
> Among men 16–42 years old and exposed to finasteride ≤1.25 mg/day, 34 of 4,284 (0.8%) developed PED (persistence median 1,534 days, IQR 651–2,351 days); the multivariable model predicting PED had one variable: duration of 5α-RI exposure

So less than 1% of finasteride users get PED. PED was already a known side effect. That's good it's being confirmed with data, but aren't the odds still very low that this would happen to fin users? As a fin user myself, I haven't experienced any of the sexual sides so I'm wondering if there's any new take-away from this.

When I look at this as a fin user, I'm personally happy to see that the data says its so unlikely.

[+] hartator|9 years ago|reply
Where is commonly found finasteride or dustaride?
[+] rosser|9 years ago|reply
Among other things, in a drug that is used to treat BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia — a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate), and male pattern hair loss. It's also sometimes used as a hormone replacement in FtM transgender individuals.

It's widely rumored that President Trump uses it for hair loss, which I suspect is part of why this article was shared, and is being upvoted; this side effect wasn't exactly unknown before this study...

[+] hudibras|9 years ago|reply
The common brand names are Propecia and Proscar.
[+] jjensen90|9 years ago|reply
They are both drugs to treat enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia)
[+] XNOVRJ|9 years ago|reply
Can anyone knowledgeable guess at the mechanism of action?
[+] rosser|9 years ago|reply
The Wikipedia article says it prevents conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone by the enzyme 5α-reductase, and also affects the GABA system. Particularly relevant quote: "Reduction of GABA-A receptor activation by these neurosteroids has been implicated in depression, anxiety, and sexual dysfunction." More specific than that is way beyond my understanding of these things.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finasteride#Mechanism_of_actio...

[+] scottlocklin|9 years ago|reply
It blocks DHT, your body's strongest androgen.
[+] firebones|9 years ago|reply
I'm guessing this is a dig at someone of prominence having notable hair who is in US news who is on one of the drugs mentioned.