Please provide input

[wannakeepitall]

Hi guys.
I want to do a statistical analysis on effectiveness and side effects of Propecia. I need your help here. If you kindly respond to questions I am listing above, I will put it in a SPSS sheet and analyze the data to figure out who is more likely to benefit from propecia and who is more likely to have side effects. The results of this analysis can help many people determine whether it's likely to work for them or not.

Here are my questions:

1. How old were you when you first noticed hair loss?
2. How old were you when you started propecia?
3. What norwood scale were you when you first started?
4. How aggressive was your hair loss before starting the treatment?
5. Did you also use minoxidil?
6. What's the duration of your usage?
7. Did you maintain?
8. Did you see any regrowth?
9. Did you see any side effects? Were they mild, moderate or severe?

When enough people have answered I will compile the data and run statistical analysis. Then we'll be able to tell who is more likely to benefit from propecia. For example we could tell whether younger people benefit more, or older people. We can see whether younger or older people are more likely to see side effects. We can see whether aggressiveness of hair loss is associated with whether propecia will work or not. We can see many things through data analyses. I'm a grad student majoring in statistics so I thought I would be somewhat useful to the forum. We can also see whether our results will match up with the FDA's study as there are a lot of people that question that study's authenticity.

 

[beaner]

I'm not sure if doing this would give you a valid analysis since there is a disproportionate number of non-responders and those having side effects (along with a lot of hypochondriacs) on this forum that would skew your results. You would come to the conclusion that Propecia doesn't work in most people and 90% are having side effects. Your results wouldn't even come close to those in the FDA trials.

 

[wannakeepitall]

I'm not sure if doing this would give you a valid analysis since there is a disproportionate number of non-responders and those having side effects (along with a lot of hypochondriacs) on this forum that would skew your results. You would come to the conclusion that Propecia doesn't work in most people and 90% are having side effects. Your results wouldn't even come close to those in the FDA trials.

But maybe I could be able to locate who would be a better responder. Are you a better responder when you start treatment younger? Are you responding better when your hair-loss is less aggressive? Are you responding better when you see no side effects? etc. It won't be a perfect analysis but it will at least give an idea about who is more likely to benefit from propecia and when.

 

[jonsie150]

your effort is valiant. but the results, as mentioned above, will be skewed.

Ideally, you'd want to gather a large sample size from the general population. you're probably not going to get more than 10-20 responders here (imo, you'd need at least 75 or so ppl for a valid experiment). plus, this board does not reflect the general population. many here are ppl who havent had much luck with treatments. plus, as i've said many times before, a lot of the people who've found success probably don't come back to this board often

 

[Mew]

I will put it in a SPSS sheet and analyze the data to figure out who is more likely to benefit from propecia and who is more likely to have side effects. The results of this analysis can help many people determine whether it's likely to work for them or not.

This question has already been answered by science: it's called genetic testing for androgen receptor CAG repeats, which determine response to Finasteride.

You are wasting your time. Read more:

http://www.hairdx.com/
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS1530 ... BW20090309

 

[wannakeepitall]

I will put it in a SPSS sheet and analyze the data to figure out who is more likely to benefit from propecia and who is more likely to have side effects. The results of this analysis can help many people determine whether it's likely to work for them or not.

This question has already been answered by science: it's called genetic testing for androgen receptor CAG repeats, which determine response to Finasteride.

No the question is not answered. They don't answer whether younger people would benefit more than older people. They don't answer whether type of hairloss is associated with who would benefit more or less with the drug. They don't provide any data. They just say "give us hundreds of dollars and we'll tell you if it will work for you". I'd rather spend that money in buying the drug and finding out for myself, which I did already anyways.

 

[Mew]

They just say "give us hundreds of dollars and we'll tell you if it will work for you". I'd rather spend that money in buying the drug and finding out for myself, which I did already anyways.

Actually, they do tell you how you may potentially respond. Note the images especially:

http://www.hairdx.com/Science.aspx?view=3

If you take the test and it turns out you would have a "slight" response to Finasteride treatment, you're now better informed towards making a decision on wether to risk a lifetime of treatment, money spent on the drug, messing with your hormones and possible side effects as a result.

On the other hand, if the tests says you'll be a great responder and none of the latter is of concern to you, such a test result might tip things more in favor of you trying the drug.

So, THAT is the benefit here: giving men the info they need UP FRONT to make a proper informed decision about wether or not to take Finasteride. But since you admit you'd rather take finasteride irregardless and just "find out for yourself", such testing before commencing treatment is useless in your particular case, since you've already jumped on the drug anyway.