February 2026 in “Journal of Dermatology and Skin Science” Finasteride can cause serious mental health issues, so it's advised to avoid it for hair loss.
44 citations
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January 2013 in “International Journal of Trichology” Finasteride 5 mg/day effectively treats hair loss in postmenopausal women without hyper-androgenism.
September 2013 in “Nature Reviews Urology” January 2020 in “International Journal of Applied Biology and P” Finasteride treatment for three years changes certain polyamine levels in the blood but not in urine.
9 citations
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October 1993 in “The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology” Finasteride doesn't affect antipyrine metabolism, so interactions with cytochrome P-450 enzyme drugs are unlikely.
March 2013 in “Reactions Weekly” A man's fertility improved after he stopped taking finasteride but worsened again when he restarted the medication.
October 2025 in “CRC Press eBooks”
2 citations
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April 2021 in “Canadian Journal of Urology” Five-alpha reductase inhibitors, like finasteride and dutasteride, can treat enlarged prostates, improve urination, reduce need for prostate surgery, and lower the risk of prostate cancer, but may increase the risk of higher grade prostate cancer. They can also treat male pattern baldness.
August 2006 in “JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute”
May 2018 in “Reactions Weekly” Finasteride treatment for hair loss can cause erectile dysfunction.
39 citations
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January 2012 in “Indian Dermatology Online Journal” Finasteride may cause sexual side effects like erectile dysfunction, but they are reversible and affect less than 2% of men.
2 citations
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January 2004 in “Korean Journal of Andrology”
24 citations
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October 2016 in “Oncotarget” Finasteride has a higher risk of reproductive side effects than minoxidil.
August 2021 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology” Finasteride 1 mg every other month effectively maintains hair growth in androgenic alopecia.
June 2011 in “Pharmacopsychiatry” Finasteride improved symptoms in a psychotic patient, but more research is needed.
January 2022 in “Skin appendage disorders” Finasteride is effective for male hair loss, but it may cause fertility issues, mental health problems, and rarely, breast growth. Regular health checks can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Patient understanding and involvement in treatment is important.
June 2026 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine” Finasteride may be linked to more psychiatric issues than dutasteride, but a definite cause isn't proven.
October 2024 in “International Journal of Pharmaceutics” Finasteride in lipid carriers improved hair growth in rats.
12 citations
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January 1998 in “Drug safety” Finasteride helps reduce prostate size and symptoms in BPH but is less effective than terazosin and works best for larger prostates.
4 citations
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April 2020 in “Dermatology practical & conceptual” Topical finasteride works faster and better than 17α-estradiol for postmenopausal hair loss.
Most patients were satisfied with topical finasteride, and few experienced side effects.
March 2014 in “Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature” Dutasteride 0.5mg was found to be more effective than finasteride 1mg in treating male pattern hair loss, with similar side effects.
April 2016 in “The Journal of Sexual Medicine”
33 citations
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August 2016 in “Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology” Dutasteride is more effective than finasteride at increasing hair count and reversing hair thinning in men with hair loss, but both have similar side effects.
15 citations
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August 1999 in “Archives of Dermatology”
5 citations
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January 2015 in “Journal of clinical & experimental dermatology research” MorrF improves hair growth better than minoxidil alone.
3 citations
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August 1996 in “PubMed” Finasteride reduces prostate size and serum levels, helping manage benign prostatic hyperplasia, without affecting prostate cancer detection. Regular monitoring is needed for users.
November 2005 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings” 3 citations
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October 1993 in “Endocrinology” April 2025 in “American Journal of Therapeutics”