Gadgetine

Assistance Relating To The Mechanics Of Finasteride

Yepesyellow

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My Regimen
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So basically I am relatively new to treating hair loss and have been trying to understand as much as I can but I’m scientifically illiterate and there are certain aspects I’m struggling with. I recently had a discussion with an individual very much opposed to finasteride that wrote me the following and I’ve been trying to ascertain whether it is completely true, or to be taken with a grain of salt or largely exaggerated, any clarity from those that know what they’re talking about would be greatly appreciated. Anyway here’s what he wrote me, it’s largely about penile shrinkage; ‘Well, when finasteride was first approved it was used to shrink the prostate. That was the main effect. BTW, it shrinks all sex organs, not just the prostate - although the effect on the penis, seminal vehicles, and testicles is smaller than on the prostate. (read the animal studies on this, it is very well documented). The effect on hair was in this case considered a side effect. Now with Propecia, when finasteride shrinks the sex organs (yes!), this is considered a side effect. I hope you can see the arbitrary nature of what is considered main effect and side effect. Just because we want and like a given effect it doesn't mean that's the drug primary effect and everything else is incidental. The drug has effects - whether you like them or not. They come together. You cannot get one and avoid the other. If you are upregulating androgen receptors in hair follicles (Merck admit this is happening), you will upregulate androgen receptor in sex organs and in the brain. You will also shrink the sex organs, as per finasteride's original indication. I hope you do know that not only development and maturation but also maintenance of tissue in sex organs is critically dependent on DHT. In other words, without DHT, cells in these tissues will atrophy and die via apoptosis over time. This is so well documented in animal studies that it is unnecessary to even bring it up. It is an established fact.’
 
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