April 2024 in “Frontiers in pharmacology” Brepocitinib 30mg is most effective for moderate-to-severe alopecia areata, but ritlecitinib 50mg may offer a better balance of safety and effectiveness.
November 2020 in “Elsevier eBooks” Antiandrogens and androgen inhibitors like spironolactone, finasteride, and dutasteride can treat hair loss and skin conditions, but they have risks and side effects, including potential harm to pregnant women and risks of cancer and heart issues. Herbal remedies also have antiandrogenic effects but lack safety validation.
223 citations,
December 2010 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” Some patients taking finasteride or dutasteride may have ongoing sexual problems and depression even after stopping the medication.
90 citations,
March 2017 in “JAMA Internal Medicine” Men over 66 taking medication for prostate enlargement have a higher risk of depression and self-harm, especially in the first 18 months of treatment.
75 citations,
January 2014 in “Korean Journal of Urology” 5α-reductase inhibitors can cause sexual problems, higher risk of aggressive prostate cancer, and depression.
66 citations,
April 2017 in “International Journal of Andrology” Men taking 5α-reductase inhibitors for enlarged prostate have a higher chance of experiencing reduced sexual desire and erectile dysfunction.
66 citations,
June 2013 in “Journal of Dermatological Treatment” Finasteride and dutasteride effectively treat hair loss, but may cause side effects like sexual dysfunction and depression.
57 citations,
July 2016 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” 5α-reductase inhibitors increase the risk of sexual dysfunction, especially in men with enlarged prostate.
52 citations,
February 2006 in “Current pharmaceutical design” 5α-reductase inhibitors and alpha-1 adrenergic antagonists together effectively treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, with long-term benefits.
50 citations,
March 2017 in “PeerJ” Using finasteride or dutasteride may cause long-lasting erectile dysfunction.
34 citations,
February 1993 in “Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology/The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology” Certain 4-azasteroids are effective at blocking the enzyme that processes testosterone in human skin and could help treat acne, excessive hair growth, and male pattern baldness.
33 citations,
April 2015 in “Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity” 5α reductase inhibitors treat hair loss but may cause sexual side effects and risks.
32 citations,
June 2017 in “Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences” Chitosan-coated nanoparticles improve skin delivery of hair loss treatments with fewer side effects.
31 citations,
January 2017 in “Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology” Low testosterone and 5α-reductase inhibitors can harm men's metabolic and sexual health; testosterone therapy may help, but discussing 5α-RIs' side effects is important.
31 citations,
September 2008 in “International Journal of Andrology” 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors may cause a low incidence of erectile dysfunction that decreases over time.
26 citations,
September 2018 in “Neurobiology of Disease” Finasteride and dutasteride reduce unwanted movements from Parkinson's disease treatment by normalizing certain brain signals.
26 citations,
October 2011 in “International Journal of Biological Macromolecules” Some newly made compounds are promising for treating enlarged prostate, hair loss, viruses, and prostate cancer, and might be better than current drugs.
22 citations,
November 2018 in “Breast Cancer Research and Treatment” The medications 5α-reductase inhibitors and spironolactone are generally safe for breast cancer patients on endocrine therapies and do not significantly increase breast cancer risk.
17 citations,
June 2017 in “British Journal of Dermatology” The article concludes that hair loss is a common side effect of drugs treating skin cancer by blocking the hedgehog pathway, but treatment should continue, and more selective drugs might prevent this side effect.
17 citations,
November 1997 in “Andrology” Finasteride effectively treats enlarged prostate and male baldness, improves symptoms of hirsutism in women, but doesn't work for acne, and may delay prostate cancer progression with few side effects.
15 citations,
October 2014 in “Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation” Some hair loss and prostate drugs might increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
13 citations,
November 2012 in “PubMed” 5α-reductase inhibitors may worsen sexual drive and spontaneous erections but don't worsen existing erectile or ejaculatory problems.
10 citations,
May 2010 in “Analytica Chimica Acta” New tests detect finasteride and dutasteride in urine quickly and easily.
8 citations,
June 2020 in “The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism” Taking 5α-reductase inhibitors with prednisolone can worsen its negative effects on metabolism.
6 citations,
March 2015 in “Journal of Endocrinological Investigation” Taking both finasteride and dutasteride for prostate issues may raise the risk of heart problems.
5 citations,
August 2018 in “Sexual Medicine Reviews” 5α-Reductase inhibitors do not consistently increase testosterone levels in the blood.
3 citations,
July 2021 in “Drug Testing and Analysis” 5α-reductase inhibitors can interfere with doping tests by masking banned substances.
3 citations,
October 2020 in “Bladder cancer” 5α-reductase inhibitors don't stop bladder cancer from developing or getting worse.
1 citations,
April 2020 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” 5ARI treatment improves hair growth in older men with minimal side effects.
1 citations,
August 2015 in “Current Sexual Health Reports” 5α-reductase inhibitors can cause serious and possibly lasting sexual and psychological side effects.