Study: Sexual Side Effects of Hair Loss Drugs Persist
Study: Sexual Side Effects of Hair Loss Drugs Persist
Medications that reduce large prostates and treat male pattern baldness can have sexual reactions that may continue after the drugs are discontinued, a new research review tells.
But a creator of one of the drugs says reactions go away{} when patients stop taking the drug. And an independent expert is doubtful of the study's conclusions.
The drugs, called 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, stop the action of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), an androgen that's more potent than its precursor, testosterone.
This class of medications includes Avodart, Propecia, and Proscar.
According to the new review, which is published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, long-term studies show that these medications can help shrink an enlarged prostate, a condition that affects as many as half of men over age 60, within three months to two years of use.
In other studies, about half of men who were taking Propecia for hair loss regrew some hair, while 42% saw no further hair loss, compared to those taking a placebo pill.
Additionally, a handful of studies have suggested that these kinds of drugs may lower the risk of prostate cancer, though that benefit is still controversial.
But the review says less attention has been paid to uncommon but potentially devastating side effects of these medications.
Those side effects can include anxiety, depression, loss of sex drive, difficulty getting or maintaining and erection, gynecomastia (growth of male breast tissue), and reduced semen production, which may affect fertility.
What's worse is that for some, these side effects persist, even when they stop taking the medication, according to the review.
"We don't really understand why, but the symptoms remain persistent or irreversible and even if they get off the drug," says study researcher Abdulmaged M. Traish, PhD, a professor of biochemistry at the Boston University School of Medicine. "They no longer regain what they had before. Biologically, something gets shut off and gets shut off once and for all."
Traish thinks that may be because nerves that are maintained by dihydrotestosterone become permanently degraded and can't be repaired even after men come off the medication.
How Many Men Are Affected?
Merck, the company that makes Propecia, did not respond to calls and emails for comment in time for publication, but according to Propecia's web site, sexual side effects -- including loss of desire, erectile dysfunction , and decreased semen production -- are uncommon, "each occurring in less than 2% of men."
Additionally, "these side effects went away in men who stopped taking Propecia because of them," the site says.
But studies included in the review found rates of erectile dysfunction related to the use of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors that were significantly higher, in the range of 6% to 8%.
Traish thinks that may be because men who stop taking medications because of side effects may not have been counted in the final analysis.
Studies in the review also found that about 4% of men taking a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, compared to 2% of men taking a placebo, experienced reduced sex drive.
Another trial found that 4.5% of men taking Propecia experienced growth of breast tissue compared to 2.8% who were taking a placebo.
The review also reported that several smaller studies had noted significant increases in depression in men taking Propecia compared to those on a placebo.
Source: http://health.loveandrelationships.net/
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