A synthetic drug for male pattern baldness could be far more dangerous than previously reported

No fire in the furnace

Let’s be honest. One of the key reasons men want to keep their hair – or get their hair back – is to attract us ladies.

Sure, it’s also about feeling better about yourself, feeling more confident, competing with the younger guys at work… That’s all true. But I would bet the farm (if I had one) that attracting women is the number one reason men go to such great lengths (pun absolutely intended) to keep a head of hair.

So I know that. And you know that. But why do you suppose Merck doesn’t know that?

You see, for nearly 20 years, men have been using a Merck creation, Propecia, to stop male-pattern baldness. There are even reported cases of men actually regrowing some of their hair.

Step one in attracting the ladies.

But that’s where it ends. Because in one of pharmaceutical medicines cruelest ironies, one of the best known side effects of Propecia is sexual dysfunction.

Saving the pattern, losing the mojo

For years, Merck has claimed that sexual dysfunction simply “went away” when men in clinical studies stopped taking the drug because of these side effects.

Now a new study from The George Washington University Medical Center tells a much different story of long-term damage.

GWU researchers found more than 70 men who experienced sexual dysfunction after beginning Propecia use. They ranged in age from 21 to 46 years, and all were in otherwise good health with no dysfunction problems before they began using Propecia.

Interviews revealed startling and persistent problems:

• 94 percent developed low libido
• 92 percent developed erectile dysfunction
• 92 percent developed decreased arousal
• 69 percent developed problems with orgasm
• Average number of sexual episodes per month went from 25.8 to 8.8

The average usage among those in the GWU study was a little over two years. And here’s where the news gets worse: The dysfunction problems did not just go away when the drug was stopped.

On average, persistent sexual side effects lasted 40 months from the time Propecia use was stopped to the time of the interview for the study – nearly three-and-a-half YEARS, and still going!

Were these results a surprise to Merck? I can’t imagine how they could be. After all, the UK and Sweden already require the company to include a warning on the package that erectile dysfunction may persist after discontinuing Propecia.

Still, knowing our friends in Big Pharma, we can’t expect them to voluntarily provide American men with the same warning. No, they’re more of the “twist my arm” type.

If Merck ever does get around to giving U.S. men a fair warning, I’m sure it won’t be as frank and forthcoming as the GWU authors. They write…

“The looming question for all the subjects is whether their sexual function will ever recover.

“Many of the study participants have developed anxiety and depression as a consequence of their sexual dysfunction and all reported a significantly decreased quality of life, especially with dating and intimacy.”

This isn’t one of those “worth the risk” drug situations that you have to weigh. Keeping a few extra strands of hair certainly isn’t worth losing your “mojo.”

Sources:
“Persistent Sexual Side Effects of Finasteride for Male Pattern Hair Loss” Journal of Sexual Medicine, Published online ahead of print 3/18/11, onlinelibrary.wiley.com