66 citations
,
April 2017 in “International Journal of Andrology” This study found that 5α-reductase inhibitors significantly increase the risk of erectile dysfunction and hypoactive sexual desire in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia, compared to placebo.
50 citations
,
March 2017 in “PeerJ” This study found that longer exposure to 5α-reductase inhibitors significantly increased the risk of persistent erectile dysfunction, especially in younger men exposed to finasteride.
20 citations
,
June 2015 in “Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation” This study found that long-term finasteride therapy in men with BPH worsened erectile dysfunction and reduced testosterone levels, while these effects were not observed with tamsulosin.
81 citations
,
June 2014 in “American Journal of Men's Health” This study highlights that adverse effects from finasteride may persist in men after discontinuation, indicating a potential "post-finasteride syndrome.
24 citations
,
December 2013 in “Sexual medicine reviews” This review discusses persistent sexual and nonsexual adverse effects of the 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride in younger men, including erectile dysfunction, low libido, and depression. It reports no new clinical results but emphasizes further research is needed.
2152 citations
,
November 2013 in “Urologia Internationalis” This study reviews the significant prevalence of organic etiologies, especially vascular causes, in erectile dysfunction among men under 40 and emphasizes thorough evaluation and consideration of treatment options like exercise and PDE-5 inhibitors.
73 citations
,
July 2013 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” This study observed that androgenic alopecia patients taking finasteride had altered neuroactive steroid levels and persistent depression symptoms even after stopping the treatment.
134 citations
,
August 2012 in “The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry” This study found that former finasteride users with persistent sexual side effects reported significantly higher rates of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts compared to controls.
29 citations
,
July 2012 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” In this study using a rat model, discontinuing dutasteride improved some relaxant responses but did not fully restore erectile function, indicating a potential time-dependent detriment of the drug.
25 citations
,
February 2012 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” In this study, oral finasteride treatment for four weeks reduced the weight of the corpus cavernosum in rats but did not significantly affect erectile function.
185 citations
,
March 2011 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” This study found that 94% of healthy men reported low libido and 92% reported erectile dysfunction as persistent sexual side effects after using finasteride for male pattern hair loss, with these effects lasting on average 40 months post-discontinuation.
72 citations
,
April 2008 in “The Journal of urology/The journal of urology” This study found that 1-year use of 5alpha-reductase inhibitors, dutasteride or finasteride, significantly lowered dihydrotestosterone levels without adversely affecting bone density, lipids, or hemoglobin in normal men.
