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Baldness Drug Causes Depression & Sexual Dysfunction

August 9, 2012 by admin in Featured, Pharmaceuticals, Science with 0 Comments

A study documents the obvious: Men who’ve lost sexual function as a result of taking a drug whose primary purpose is to improve the chance of attracting sexual partners are likely to become depressed.

by Heidi Stevenson

Propecia is a commonly-used drug for baldness. In recent years, it has come under question for causing serious sexual dysfunction. A new study documents that the men who’ve lost sexual function because of Propecia are very likely to be depressed, too.

The results of the study are, unsurprisingly, quite dramatic, since it studied men who had lost sexual function as a result of using finasteride, Propecia’s generic name. These results, though, are unlikely to be surprising. Symptoms of depression were found in 75% of the men who’d suffered loss of sexual function were found to be depressed. 11% were classified as mildly depressed, 28% moderately so, and 36% were severely depressed. 44% reported having suicidal thoughts.

Such results can hardly be considered surprising. Men take Propecia because they’re troubled by loss of hair, a benign condition that is a result of being male, which is hardly a clinical condition.

Why do they care about going bald? Usually, it’s because they fear loss of attractiveness—loss of ability to attract sexual partners. If it then causes permanent sexual dysfunction, then it’s hardly surprising that they’d become depressed. Imagine taking a drug in the hope of being able to attract a sexual partner and then finding that you can’t have sexual relations, the purpose of taking the drug in the first place.

It is, of course, astounding that Propecia is still on the market. The FDA removes healthy natural products that do little or no harm, but are highly effective in helping severe conditions. Then, it approves a drug like Propecia to treat baldness, a state of normalcy that most men, and many women, face during their lives. That it causes permanent loss of sexual function, decreased volume of ejaculate (indicating reduced fertility), breast cancer in men, and depression? Oh well. At least its manufacturer, Merck, can make money on it. In FDA circles, apparently, that’s what matters.

Michael S. Irwig, the author of this study, Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Thoughts Among Former Users of Finasteride With Persistent Sexual Side Effects, has been a researcher on Propecia for a few years. He’s unusual, though. Most researchers are trying to find other uses for the drug. The reason is obvious: That’s where the money is. Drug research is largely controlled by Big Pharma, whose goal is to maximize profits and minimize negative publicity about their products. So, though it seems rather silly to do a study whose results are so obvious, if it is the one that can gain enough attention to at least get doctors to stop being so casual about prescribing the drug, then Dr. Irwig will have saved untold numbers of men from the loss of one of life’s greatest gifts.

It may be that most men who use Propecia don’t have these problems, but the reality is that you cannot know in advance if you’ll be one of them. Keep in mind that if it does happen to you, it could be for 100% of the rest of your life. If you wish to take that risk, it’s your right—but remember, in your sample of one person, a single bad result is one hundred percent.

Watch this brief video about what happened to one young man: