Do Propecia And Finasteride Work For Hair Regrowth?

On December 22, 1997, the FDA finally approvedmore hair regrowth with the finasteride treatment
Propecia for treating hair loss in male candidates.versus the sugar pill. Side effects were infrequent (it
Does it work and is it safe?was not stated exactly what infrequent meant) and
On December 22, 1997, the FDA finally approvedwere related to sexual function.
Propecia for treating hair loss in male candidates. ThisThat's fantastic! So infrequently, does that mean that
approval made Propecia the first FDA approvedI will attract more of the opposite sex and then not
treatment for male hair loss that comes in pill form.be able to do anything with that? I'm just saying!
The basics of Propecia are as follows:Propecia has not and will not be marketed for
The active ingredient that is causing the hairwomen because it causes birth defects, and the
regrowth in Propecia is finasteride. Finasteride wassafety and amounts needed have not been
first approved and used in 1992 as Proscar. Proscar isestablished in women.
a treatment used for prostate enlargement. ProscarBut its o.k. apparently for us men because we are
helps suppress the formation of DHT which is thedisposable and don't give birth. Any time I see a
hormone thought to cause the increase in size. Bychemical that is not advised for women because it
treating an enlarged prostate with Proscar, the needcan cause birth defects, I just have to feel that male
for surgery was reduced.or not, there is something going on that shouldn't be.
There is 1 mg of finasteride in Propecia (for theThe FDA's Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs
purpose of hair growth) and 5 mg in Proscar (forAdvisory Committee sat down and had a chat about
treating prostrate enlargement). While treatingPropecia. The committee offered labeling suggestions
patients for prostate enlargement, it was noticedin the context of an overall generally favorable
that their was some regrowth of hair in areas ofdiscussion. Merck & Co. of West Point, Pa., produces
male pattern hair loss.both Proscar and Propecia.
Being a little tongue in cheek. Its no comfort to knowWe all know Merck & Co. track record with lawsuits.
that the side effects of one treatment become theVioxx and the osteoporosis drug Fosamax are the
basis of treatment in another.first that come to mind. Almost seems to make
In further studies, 1 mg of finasteride andabout as much sense as trusting Exxon to handle
demonstrated hair growth in male pattern hair loss.your neighborhood environmental project.
The number of hairs (I'm not sure if it was 4 or 6Make sure that when you start seeking treatments
hairs, just kidding) increased in the anterior midscalpfor hairloss and male pattern baldness that you weigh
and vertex.the pro's of hair regrowth with the possible health
Patient feed back showed that there was in factconcern cons.