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Safety Profile of Finasteride: Distribution of Adverse Effects According to Structural and Informational Dichotomies of the Mind/Brain

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Abstract

Finasteride is currently used extensively for male androgenic alopecia and benign prostatic hyperplasia; however, some adverse effects are severe and even persistent after treatment cessation, the so-called ‘post-finasteride syndrome’. The following most severe adverse effects—sexual dysfunction and depression—often occur together and may potentiate one other, a fact that could explain (at least in part) the magnitude and persistence of finasteride adverse effects. This paper presents the pharmacological action of finasteride and the corresponding adverse effects, the biological base explaining the occurrence, persistence and distribution of these adverse effects, and a possible therapeutic solution for post-finasteride syndrome. The distribution of finasteride adverse effects is presented within a comprehensive and modern neuro-endocrine perspective related to structural and informational dichotomies of the brain. Understanding the variation of finasteride side effects among different populations would be necessary not only to delineate the safety profile of finasteride for different subgroups of men (a subject may or may not be affected by a certain anti-hormonal compound dependent on the individual neuro-endocrine profile), but also as a possible premise for a therapeutic approach of finasteride adverse effects. Such therapeutic approach should include administration of exogenous hormones, which are deficient in men with post-finasteride syndrome, namely dihydrotestosterone (in right-handed men) or progesterone/dihydroprogesterone (in left-handed subjects).

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Acknowledgements

This work continues a previous scientific project of the Ministry of National Education, CNCS-UEFISCDI, project number: PN-II-ID-PCE- 2012-4-0409 (see: http://www.scholar.ro/finasteride).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Carol Davila University, Cazangiilor Street No. 10, 033063, Bucharest, Romania

    Ion G. Motofei, Mirela Manea & Ioana Păunică

  2. Department of Psychology, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, 46383-6493, USA

    David L. Rowland

  3. Department of Dermatology, Carol Davila University, Bucharest, Romania

    Simona R. Georgescu

  4. Department of Urology, Carol Davila University, Bucharest, Romania

    Ioanel Sinescu

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  1. Ion G. Motofei
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  2. David L. Rowland
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  4. Simona R. Georgescu
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  5. Ioana Păunică
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Correspondence to Ion G. Motofei.

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Motofei, I.G., Rowland, D.L., Manea, M. et al. Safety Profile of Finasteride: Distribution of Adverse Effects According to Structural and Informational Dichotomies of the Mind/Brain. Clin Drug Investig 37, 511–517 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40261-017-0501-8

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