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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
Is it true that propecia/finasteride can cause / trigger depression?
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I am a 37 y.o. male depression sufferer who is also losing his hair. In the past the hair loss medication propecia/finasteride has been effective in stopping my hair loss but I have discontinued using it as I've been told that that there is a potential it can trigger/worsen my depression. Is this true? I would love to continue using propecia if possible but not at the expense of my depression. Any answers or personal experiences would be appreciated! -
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Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith
Health Professional
My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile
From a PubMed search (search string “propecia finasteride depression”) the answer to your question seems to be “no”.
The only paper which is close is this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22939118 .
It looks unconvincing to me - small sample sizes and it is unclear whether or not the effects of Finasteride on depression are primary or are secondary to (possible) effects arising from sexual dysfunction.
The authors are correct in noting that their work is “preliminary findings”.Report this post
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