Propecia and Prostate study report
If you are taking Propecia, marketed by Merck to forestall hair loss, there is a new study that may give you pause.
The medical journal, Lancet Oncology, reports that this drug may prevent detection of prostate cancer. There is an active ingredient in Propecia that may artificially lower the important PSA levels that indicate the possibility of prostate cancer. Check with your doctor about your PSA levels and whether your Propecia use can be affecting the test’s outcomes.
I guess less hair but longer life due to early detection of prostate cancer might be a fair trade off.
Finasteride (brand name Propecia�) is an orally administered medication for male pattern hair loss (MPHL). It is the only specific MPHL treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for prescription by a physician. Several years of investigation and use by more than a million patients show that finasteride has long-term effectiveness and safety in treating MPHL in men of all ages and all ethnic backgrounds. Finasteride is sometimes used alone or in combination with minoxidil (see Using Minoxidil (Rogaine)) to complement hair transplantation. Finasteride is not recommended for use in women.
Finasteride’s effects in slowing hair loss and stimulating new hair growth work best for early to moderate degrees of hair loss. Men with extensive hair loss are unlikely to experience much regrowth with finasteride; these men are better candidates for hair transplantation or other surgical approach to hair restoration.
Finasteride is most effective in stimulating hair regrowth over the crown of the scalp. It is less effective in stimulating regrowth at the front of the scalp-where hair loss is commonly called a “receding hairline”. Physician hair restoration specialists may prescribe finasteride to prevent further hair loss by the patient, and carry out hair transplantation to provide coverage at the frontal hairline.
Finasteride: How It Works
Finasteride works at the molecular level to halt hair loss and stimulate new hair growth. It is a medication that selectively inhibits the activity of an enzyme that converts the “male hormone” testosterone into a form that is active in hair follicles.
Androgenic (”male”) hormones such as testosterone have multiple effects in the body, including actions in the skin, hair follicles and prostate gland. Hair follicles and sebaceous (oil-producing) glands in the skin are particularly responsive to androgenic hormones.
Testosterone is the most potent of the androgenic hormones. Its actions on hair follicles, skin and prostate tissue is not direct however; These tissues are responsive to a form of testosterone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT); testosterone is converted to DHT by the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. Finasteride acts by inhibiting the action of 5-alpha-reductase and thus inhibiting the conversion of testosterone into DHT.
