Hair loss drug may reduce libido

By Alexandra Sifferlin, Time.com

updated 5:05 PM EDT, Fri July 13, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(Time ) -- In April, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the warning to finasteride, Merck & Co.'s drug marketed to treat both male pattern baldness (Propecia) and enlarged prostate (Proscar). The new warnings noted that the sexual side effects associated with the medication, including problems with libido, ejaculations and orgasm, could last even after patients stop taking the drug.

Now a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine finds that side effects may not only continue after stopping finasteride, but they may last for months or even years.

In the study, Dr. Michael Irwig of George Washington University and his colleagues surveyed 54 men under age 40 who reported experiencing side effects for three months or more after stopping the medication Propecia. The patients reported a variety of sexual problems including erectile dysfunction, low libido, trouble having an orgasm, and shrinking and painful genitals. Some men also reported neurological problems like depression, anxiety and cognitive haziness.

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For 96% of the men, the sexual problems lasted more than a year after they quit using the drug. None of the men had sexual, medical or psychiatric complaints before taking Propecia.

The study sample was small and the authors acknowledge that it may be skewed to include only men who were most negatively impacted by the drug. Most of the participants were recruited through an Internet forum called Propeciahelp.com, for men experiencing persistent side effects.

Still, the authors argue their findings may signal potentially serious risks for men using finasteride. "Our findings make me suspicious that this drug may have done permanent damage to these men," Irwig told ABC News.

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Hair loss drug may reduce libido